TREASURY

Customs and Excise Staffing

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many Customs and Excise staff were employed in Scotland in each year since 2002;
	(2)  when the last review of staffing numbers and locations was carried out by HM Customs and Excise;
	(3)  what plans he has to increase the number of Customs and Excise staff employed in Scotland.

John Healey: holding answers 2 March 2004
	The regional distribution of permanent staff (including fixed term) staff in all Government Departments is published annually by the Cabinet Office in Table D of 'Civil Service Statistics', a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
	In April 2002 there were 1170 full time equivalent Customs and Excise staff based in Scotland, along with a further 21.5 casual staff.
	The April 2003 figures are due for publication in the summer.
	In addition, staff from the national and mobile strike teams of the Law Enforcement business are available to be deployed in Scotland according to the assessed risks and operational needs. Along with detector dog teams and crews of the customs cutter fleet.
	The national deployment of Customs and Excise staff is reviewed annually, and at other times as necessary. The number of staff deployed in Scotland are determined by current risk and intelligence factors. Resourcing for the next year will be decided by the Department's business managers in accordance with their assessment of operational needs.

Film Industry

Glenda Jackson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what decision has been reached on the moratorium proposed to him for affording films in pre-production relief from the newly introduced tax liabilities.

Dawn Primarolo: No new tax liabilities have been introduced on film production. A number of tax reliefs exist specifically for film production and remain available for film-makers. These include Section 42 of the Finance (No.2) Act 1992 and Section 48 of the Finance (No.2) Act 1997. Measures to be included in Finance Bill 2004 prevent tax avoidance through the manipulation of partnership losses. A number of such avoidance schemes were targeted at the film industry.

Gift Aid

Don Foster: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what representations his Department has received from (a) the museum and (b) the heritage sector in relation to introducing gift aid tax relief in (i) writing, (ii) meetings and (iii) other forms since 1997; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the cost to museums of (a) computer equipment, (b) staff, (c) administration and (d) other costs in relation to claiming gift aid; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2004 to the hon. Member for Leominster (Mr. Wiggin), Official Report, columns 865–6W, on gift aid, what research his Department has conducted into the impact of lost gift aid revenue on (a) national museums, (b) independent museums, (c) country houses and (d) royal buildings; and if he will make a statement.

John Healey: Ministers and officials from the Treasury and Chancellor's Departments regularly receive a wide range of representations from museums and the heritage sector, including many on the benefits they receive from Gift Aid.
	In April 2000 the Government made improvements to the Gift Aid scheme, as part of a wider package to make the tax system simpler for charities and their donors and to encourage greater charitable giving. In 2002–03 charities received donations under Gift Aid of £2.3 billion, including tax relief from the Government of £506 million.
	Under a special exemption introduced in 1989 and imported into Gift Aid as part of a wider reform in 2000, certain heritage and conservation charities are able to claim Gift Aid on membership subscriptions in the same way as they were previously able to claim tax refunds under Deeds of Covenant. Deeds of Covenant lasted for at least three years, meaning that a donor was required to have an ongoing commitment to a charity, but Gift Aid can apply to one-off donations as well.
	A number of charities eligible for the special exemption are claiming Gift Aid tax refunds under so-called 'day membership' schemes. These schemes do not generate additional giving, but simply reclassify admission fees as donations on which Gift Aid is being claimed.
	The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the pre-Budget report (Cm 6042) that the Government will amend the Gift Aid legislation to ensure that the special exemption applies as it was originally intended and not to these 'day memberships'.
	This will mean that heritage and conservation charities will continue to benefit from the special exemption where a donor has an ongoing commitment to the charity, such as an annual membership, and these charities—like other fundraising charities—will continue to benefit from Gift Aid on other donations of money.
	The Government is consulting closely with charities that might be affected, directly and through their associations and representative bodies, on the detail of how the change may best be achieved.
	As I made clear in my earlier answer, no estimate is available of the amount of money being claimed by charities which are taking advantage of this. Charities are not required to differentiate on their Gift Aid claims the amounts they are claiming for 'day membership' income from other amounts they are claiming. No estimate has been made of the cost to museums of claiming the Gift Aid benefits they enjoy.

Housing Stock Transfers

David Drew: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make a statement on the situation of local authorities who have transferred their housing stock and who have to pay VAT on the service arrangements involved in that transfer.

John Healey: A local authority is entitled to recover any VAT incurred on professional services supplied to it in connection with arranging the transfer of housing stock to the private sector. VAT can also be recovered on certain improvement works the purchaser may require the local authority to carry out as a contractual condition of purchase.

Large Business Office

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 12 February, Official Report, column 1556W, on the Large Business Office, when the Director of Inland Revenue's Large Business Office first asked Inland Revenue's internal auditors to review the accuracy of the Large Business Office's compliance data for 2002–03; when the internal auditors reported their findings; when the relevant commissioner first made known to fellow board members the existence of potentially unreliable reports of the Large Business Office's compliance performance; when the Board received the report on the issues of the 2003 review; when Inland Revenue first alerted the National Audit Office to the existence of previously overstated compliance performance for the Large Business Office in Inland Revenue's annual reports; how many of the Large Business Office's geographic offices were revealed by the 2003 follow-up review to have had at least one Large Business Office caseworker who was not reporting yield in line with departmental guidance; and what proportion of Large Business Office caseworkers were revealed not to be reporting yield in line with departmental guidance.

Dawn Primarolo: The Director of the LBO asked the Internal Audit Office to carry out a review of the 2002–03 figures in April 2003 (after the year end). The IAO made their report in August 2003.
	A design fault in the LBO computer system incorrectly invited Inspectors to enter a tax outcome for taxpayer favour adjustments. All taxpayer favour adjustments were recorded in this way. The Board was advised in October 2003 of the overall adjustments required to LBO yield figures. The issue was discussed with NAO at a working level in February 2004 as part of their general audit coverage of the Inland Revenue.

Project ASPIRE

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his Answers of 8 September, 2003, Official Report, column 95–96W, on the ASPIRE Programme and 11 December 2003, Official Report, column 604W, on the Inland Revenue, on what date it became Inland Revenue policy to include in its invitations to tender provision allowing it to undertake a review of the tax affairs of those companies responding; and on what date it was decided to include a provision in the ASPIRE invitation to tender allowing the Inland Revenue to undertake a review of the tax affairs of those companies responding.

Dawn Primarolo: As a Government Department, the Inland Revenue must comply with EU Council Directive 50/92, which came into force in the UK in January 1994 as a Statutory Instrument (Public Services Contract Regulations 1993 (1993: No 3228)). This Statutory Instrument allows a contracting authority to reject a service provider if the latter has not fulfilled obligations relating to payment of taxes under the law of any part of the United Kingdom.
	Work on drafting the ASPIRE ITT commenced in January 2002 and notification that a review of the tax affairs of bidders would form part of the evaluation was included in a draft version of the ITT issued to the three shortlisted bidders on 31 July 2002.

Tax Compliance

James Gray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 16 December 2003, Official Report, column 811W, on tax compliance, what the very exceptional circumstances are in which Inland Revenue will inform other Government Departments that a potential supplier has poor compliance in its tax affairs; on how many occasions in each year since 1996–97 the Inland Revenue has informed other Government Departments of a potential supplier's poor compliance standing; and which office of the Inland Revenue is responsible for making such reports to other Government Departments.

Dawn Primarolo: Where the Inland Revenue is working on a procurement exercise or is engaged in a contract jointly with another Government Department, the Revenue may withdraw from that joint exercise or contract in the light of tax non-compliance by a supplier. In those exceptional circumstances an explanation to joint procurement partners for the withdrawal would be appropriate but would be limited to a brief general statement and will not include details of non-compliance of the potential supplier. Where necessary, this would be done by the most appropriate Revenue office in the specific instance.

Tax Exemption (Computers and Internet)

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses in Crosby have benefited from the 100 per cent. tax exemption for the purchase of computer and internet equipment.

Dawn Primarolo: We regret that the information is not available to estimate the number of businesses in Crosby which have benefited from the 100 per cent. first year capital allowances for the purchase of information and communication equipment.

Tax Thresholds

Stephen Byers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the threshold for higher rate tax liability would be if it were to cover 6 per cent. of the working age population; and what estimate he has made of tax lost by restricting the higher rate to 6 per cent. of the working age population.

Dawn Primarolo: holding answer 11 March 2004
	I regret that it would be possible to provide a reliable answer only at disproportionate cost.

PRIME MINISTER

Prisoners (Egypt)

David Amess: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 26 January 2004, Official Report, column 49W, if he will (a) meet the families of the detainees and (b) invite hon. Members representing constituencies in which the detainees families reside to the meeting before the detainees are brought back to court on 25 March.

Tony Blair: As the Department which leads on consular cases overseas, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers continue to make representations to the Egyptian Government where appropriate and are maintaining contact with the men's families.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Bail (Northern Ireland)

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs what assessment he has made of the current arrangements for access to bail for defendants awaiting trial in Northern Ireland.

Christopher Leslie: Applicants for bail have prompt access to the Magistrates' Courts and to the High Court for bail applications. First applications to the High Court are frequently heard within 24 hours of receipt. Second and subsequent applications are normally listed for hearing within 48 hours. Saturday hearings for first bail applications in scheduled offence cases were introduced in January 2004.

Privy Council

Oliver Heald: To ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many times the Privy Council met in 2003; and how many Privy Counsellors were present on each occasion.

Christopher Leslie: The Privy Council met 14 times in 2003. The date of each Meeting and the number of Privy Counsellors that were present at each one are set out as follows.
	
		
			 Date Number of Privy Counsellors 
		
		
			 2003  
			 27 February 4 
			 20 March 5 
			 8 May 4 
			 13 May 3 
			 21 May 3 
			 12 June 4 
			 13 June 3 
			 26 June 3 
			 17 July 4 
			 8 October 4 
			 14 October 3 
			 13 November 4 
			 20 November 3 
			 10 December 6

NORTHERN IRELAND

British Airways (Call Centre)

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what payments have been made to British Airways for the setting up of a call centre in Belfast; and whether such payments are still being made.

Ian Pearson: British Airways operates a contact BA call centre in central Belfast which was expanded in 1998 with an offer of selective financial assistance from the then NI Industrial Development Board (IDB) totalling £512,000 for the creation of 65 new jobs.
	On 18 February 2004, British Airways announced that the Belfast call centre would create a further 48 new jobs. This latest expansion has not attracted selective financial assistance from Invest NI (the successor body to IDB).
	Owing to a policy of commercial confidentiality on information relating to specific companies, it would be inappropriate to disclose information about the amounts actually paid to British Airways.

Charity Commission

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans the Government has to introduce a Charity Commission in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

John Spellar: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for North Down (Lady Hermon), on 11 March 2004, Official Report, column 1657W.

Derating

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many properties, broken down by categories of use, will be affected by the proposal to derate businesses in the province; and how much money will be raised by each of the proposed steps until full derating is reached in 2011.

Ian Pearson: The potential yield from the phasing out of industrial derating is included in table 1 below and the number of properties, broken down by categories of use, that will be affected by the proposal to phase out industrial derating for manufacturing business in Northern Ireland is included in table 2.
	
		The Potential Yield From the Phasing Out of Industrial Derating
		
			  Rate liability (percentage) Estimated total yield  million 
		
		
			 200506 15 8 
			 200607 25 14 
			 200708 35 19 
			 200809 50 27 
			 200910 75 41 
			 201011 75 41 
			 201112 100 55 
		
	
	
		Non Domestic Properties defined as Industrial1 for Industrial Derating
		
			 Property description Number of properties 
		
		
			 Factories 4,458 
			 Workshops and stores 552 
			 Quarries, Sandpits,  Mines 150 
			 Other 13 
			 Total 5,173 
		
	
	Source:
	VLA Non Domestic Property List

Extradition

Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many requests for extradition of terrorist suspects from the Irish Republic have been (a) made and (b) granted in each year since 1997.

Paul Murphy: There have been no requests for the extradition of terrorist suspects from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland since 1997, and therefore none granted.

TRANSPORT

Bus Lanes

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of priority bus lanes have been created in Crosby since 1997.

Tony McNulty: Crosby is included in the Merseyside Local Transport Plan (LTP) area. The Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive (PTE) is the local transport authority responsible for improving public transport in Merseyside including, for example, implementing bus priority measures. The PTE has recorded that it has delivered or is planning to deliver 37km of bus lanes in Merseyside between 199899 and 200506including 5.9km of bus lanes in Sefton. These figures do not take into account other bus priority measures such as Quality Bus Corridors/showcase routes or other schemes, which may incorporate bus priority measures.
	It is not possible to provide data from before 199899 nor is it possible to identify separately how many km of bus lanes the PTE has delivered or is planning to deliver in Crosby. It is ultimately a matter for local transport authorities to decide how to distribute the annual capital allocation received from the Government for spending on local transport in their areas, in line with local priorities and in order to achieve the objectives set out in their LTPs.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 4 February from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. D. McDowell.

Alistair Darling: I replied to my right hon. Friend yesterday.

Procurement Policy

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport in what ways environmentally sustainable procurement strategies within the Department have driven innovation in the design and supply of products.

Tony McNulty: Environmentally sustainable procurement strategies have driven innovation in this Department in the following areas:
	It is Government policy to use recycled paper and this Department has developed a Recycled Printing Papers Framework to meet the requirements of the Waste Strategy Initiative. Since the Framework started in August 2000, the success can be measured in terms of awareness, quality, availability and price advantage, demonstrated in savings to Government of 1.8 million, growth in the market place and improvements in supply and quality. There are now more than 25 Government Departments and agencies using the Framework.
	It is now a contractual provision within the Department to use legal and sustainable timber for all central furniture and property management contracts. Certification to this effect is required for all furniture supplied. A decision has also been taken to discontinue use of natural wood veneers on ranges of furniture where alternative finishes are available.
	The Department's catalogue of core stationery items clearly identifies green products. All toner cartridges are recycled.
	The Department's IT disposal contract offers surplus equipment to schools under a Home Office scheme. Any equipment where this is not appropriate is disposed of in an environmentally friendly way.
	All the Department's personal and laptop computers have power saving software which puts the hardware into power saving mode after approximately 20 minutes of inactivity. In addition, a rolling program is in place to refresh hardware: this has recently included the replacement of monitors with flat screen technology which has a much lower power consumption and heat output. All PC, laptop and network printer hardware also complies with EU energy saving and electrical regulation.
	The Department has encouraged its main suppliers of furniture, stationery and office machinery to aim for ISO 14001 certification. Most have now received accreditation with the remainder expected to achieve it in 2004.
	The Department carries out an annual environmental audit of suppliers of goods, irrespective of whether they have an ISO 14001 accreditation. The audits are carried out internally by trained staff. Examples of good practice are shared with other suppliers where possible.
	The Department (in collaboration with ODPM) has awarded a contract for an electronic environmental management system (EMS) which is now being rolled out to other Government Departments.

Railway Investment

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make a statement on the effect of investment in railway improvements over the next 10 years upon residents of Crosby.

Tony McNulty: Merseytravel Passenger Transport Executive (PTE) is responsible for improving services and facilities for passengers on the Merseyrail network. Network Rail is responsible for maintaining and renewing the infrastructure and will be renewing one mile of track at Blundellsands and Crosby in 200506.
	The PTE has plans for a number of improvements over the next 10 years. These include upgrading the car park at Blundellsands and Crosby and making the station fully compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act 1995; investigating the provision of a dedicated car park at Hall Road station; providing a lift at Waterloo station to improve accessibility; and upgrading the car park, improving access to the ticket office and improving bus turnaround at Formby station. The waiting room at Formby is being refurbished through the Strategic Rail Authority's Modern Facilities at Stations Programme. In addition, Merseyrail rolling stock will be fully refurbished by the end of 2004. The refurbishment includes the provision of CCTV, dedicated wheelchair spaces and cycle racks.

Rural Bus Services

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many rural bus services in Crosby are supported by rural bus grants.

Tony McNulty: Rural bus subsidy grant (RBSG) is paid to local transport authorities; in the case of Crosby this is the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive (PTE). It is for the authority to decide which services should be supported with the grant. We understand from the PTE that no rural bus services in Crosby are provided by RBSG. The Merseyside PTE provide support for certain rural bus services in Crosby through their main revenue support funding.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Environmental Sustainability

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with local authorities regarding local authority charging for waste collection and disposal.

Elliot Morley: In its response to the Strategy Unit report, the Government undertook to carry out further work before making a decision on whether to enable local authorities to implement direct or variable charging for waste collection and disposal. Officials have met representatives of local authorities and the Local Government Association as part of this work.

Environmental Sustainability

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to demonstrate to local authorities the potential benefits of (a) increasing recycling and (b) reducing waste.

Elliot Morley: The Government's Waste Strategy 2000 set out a vision of sustainable waste management incorporating a shift away from reliance on landfill and towards waste reduction, re-use and recycling. In doing so, it explored the environmental, economic and social benefits arising from such a shift. The Strategy Unit's 2001 report, Waste not, want not, reiterated these arguments.
	Part of the role of Defra's Waste Implementation Programme is to ensure that local authorities understand the benefits of more sustainable waste management. This is being pursued on an individual basis with local authorities, through regional conferences, and via the programme's national messages.

Environmental Sustainability

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how her Department disseminates best practice in sustainable waste management to local authorities.

Elliot Morley: The Defra Waste Implementation Programme's Local Authority Support Unit has been established to provide advice and a range of tools to enable local authorities to meet and, where possible, exceed their statutory targets.
	The Unit has already identified a number of areas where local authorities need additional support. In response the Unit is producing a range of tools, case studies and best practice.
	These will cover such areas as contract development and service procurement, strategy development, collection of bulky goods, estates recycling, kerbside capture rates and best recycling and re-use practice at civic amenity sites.
	These and other tools and services developed in response to local authority needs will be disseminated through a dedicated local authority support website for waste recycling activities, to be launched in May 2004.
	Tools and support will also be targeted specifically to individual local authorities which will most benefit from assistance.

Action Energy Programme

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what fees were paid in the last year to WS Atkins for the management of the Action Energy programme; and whether the fees paid covered work done to improve the energy efficiency of (a) UK buildings and (b) industrial processes.

Elliot Morley: In July 2002 Defra transferred the Energy Efficiency Best Practice programme to the Carbon Trust who relaunched it as their own Action Energy programme. Action Energy is the UK's main energy efficiency information, advice and research programme for organisations in the business and public sectors.
	The Carbon Trust is a private company grant funded by Defra to lead on energy efficiency for the business and public sector and support the development of a low carbon economy in the UK. Contracts held by the Carbon Trust are a matter for the Carbon Trust Board.

Batteries (Disposal)

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects the forthcoming EU legislation on the disposal and recycling of batteries to be introduced in the United Kingdom.

Elliot Morley: The timetable for implementation of the draft Directive for Member States is unclear. The Directive will be negotiated through the co-decision process. As such, much will depend on whether agreement is reached after First or Second Reading, or following conciliation. The draft Directive is expected to receive its First Reading in the European Parliament on 19 April 2004. The negotiation process may however be delayed by European Enlargement in May 2004 and European Parliament elections in June 2004.
	Once the Directive is in place the UK Government will have 18 months to transpose it into domestic law.

Cattle Tagging

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research she has collated on the use of electronic tags in cattle; and what progress she has made towards implementing such a system.

Alun Michael: The Department has considered research results on the use of electronic identification both at a European level and small scale trials within the United Kingdom. We have also recently launched a pilot project on a minimum of 50 commercial sheep farms to assess how industry can make best use of electronic identification and to identify any issues that may arise. All these findings will be taken into account in the development of electronic identification for livestock. However, until the European Union agrees harmonised technical standards and implementation guidelines, the Government is unable to promote the widespread use of this technology given the current lack of standardisation.

Combined Heat and Power

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what financial incentives she has considered in the development of the Government's Combined Heat and Power Strategy Paper; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The measures to support CHP announced in the Energy White Paper, taken together with the measures we have previously introduced and detailed in the draft CHP Strategy, will significantly help CHP. These include:
	exemption from the climate change levy for fuel inputs and electricity outputs from Good Quality CHP;
	the 50 million Community Energy programme promoting community heating;
	eligibility for Enhanced Capital Allowances; and
	a reduction in VAT to 5 per cent. for certain grant funded domestic micro-CHP installations.
	We will set out the full range of support measures in the Government's Strategy for CHP to 2010, which we intend to publish after the Easter Recess.

Combined Heat and Power

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she last visited a combined heat and power plant; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: Ministers and officials meet regularly with the Combined Heat and Power Association and members of the industry and have visited a number of CHP schemes.

Dairy Farming

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what forecast she has made of the price of milk per litre in the first three years after the Common Agricultural Policy mid-term review takes effect.

Alun Michael: If milk prices fully reflected the reductions in intervention prices for butter and skimmed milk powder in the period 200407, there would be a decrease of 4.5 pence per litre, assuming current exchange rates. The Commission in its economic assessment of the reform proposals concluded that prices would not fall to the full extent of any support price cuts. Colman and Harvey in their recent study for the Dairy Supply Chain Forum concluded that the average farm gate price in the UK could fall to just above 15 pence per litre. However, the effects of these lower prices on farm incomes will be, at least in part, offset by the introduction of direct payments. Furthermore, decoupling should lead to some improvement in prices and incomes as farmers produce for the market, rather than subsidy.

Departmental Communications

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many staff are employed in the Department to work in the communications field, broken down by (a) Government Information and Communication Service staff and (b) other staff, broken down by (i) press officers, (ii) special advisers and (iii) others.

Alun Michael: There are 60 staff employed in the Communications Directorate of the Department as professional communicators, 41 of which are members of the Government Information and Communications Service.
	The Directorate has 21 Press Officers. The remainder of the staff are employed in marketing, internal communications, new media, strategic planning publications and print.
	The Special Advisers' Code of Conduct sets out the sort of work a special adviser may undertake on behalf of their Minister. This includes communications activity.
	The number of staff who work in the communications field across the Department could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Communications

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the total expenditure on communications for the Department has been in 200304, broken down by expenditure on (a) Government Information and Communications Service staff and (b) other staff, broken down by (i) press officers.(ii) special advisers and (iii) others.

Alun Michael: Information on expenditure is not kept in the categories requested in the question and could only be assembled at disproportionate cost.
	The total cost of staff and related expenditure for Defra Communications Directorate for 200304 is estimated to be 5.2 million. This includes the cost of staff in both communications professional grades and other categories. Within this figure the cost for operating the Press Office is estimated to be 1.5 million for the year.
	The Special Advisers' Code of Conduct sets out the sort of work a special adviser may undertake on behalf of their Minister. This includes communications activity. Details of the costs of Special Advisers are given on an annual basis. Information for the financial year 200304 will be published in due course.

Departmental Furniture

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which companies have contracts for furniture provision for her Department; and what measures have been implemented to ensure that when a product contains wood, it can be shown to come from legal and sustainable sources.

Elliot Morley: The following companies have furniture supply contracts with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and its executive agencies:
	Carleton
	Walls 2 Workstations
	Viking
	Project Office Furniture
	Hallways
	Matthews Office Furniture
	Purchasing centres in Defra and its executive agencies have been issued with guidance, including a model specification clause and contract condition, that explains how to seek to acquire timber and wood products from legal and sustainable sources.
	Defra's main furniture supplier, Carleton, is certified as operating a chain of custody system that meets the standards set by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Certified products provide assurance that the timber used is from legal and sustainable sources. The Department monitors the value of certified wooden furniture purchased as part of its duty to report its timber purchases.
	Defra is organising the creation of a central point of expertise on timber that will review the guidance given to all central departments and assess the extent to which certification schemes provide assurance that the Government contract requirements for legal and sustainable timber are met.

Diesel Trains

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of (a) the levels and (b) the environmental implications of emissions from diesel trains.

Elliot Morley: Emissions from diesel trains are calculated and reported in the UK's National Atmospheric Emission Inventory produced in the Defra research programme. All UK emissions data are available on the internet: http://www.naei.org.uk.
	The main pollutants emitted from the combustion of diesel fuels are carbon dioxide (CO 2 a greenhouse gas), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), particulates (PM 1 0 ) and Sulphur Dioxide (SO 2 ). The following table shows emissions of these four pollutants for 1990, 1995 and 2001 from diesel trains, from the railway system as a whole (including emissions from electricity generation for electric trains), and from all UK sources.
	
		
			 Pollutant/Source 1990 1995 2001 
		
		
			 Carbon as CO 2
			 Diesel Trains 1,889 1,854 1,273 
			 Railway System 6,182 6,521 5,784 
			 UK all sources 585,047 548,616 556,352 
			 
			 NOx
			 Diesel Trains 21 15 10 
			 Railway System 36 28 20 
			 UK all sources 2,759 2,174 1,680 
			 
			 PM 1  0
			 Diesel Trains 2 1 1 
			 Railway System 3 2 1 
			 UK all sources 309 239 178 
			 
			 SO 2
			 Diesel Trains 3 2 1 
			 Railway System 52 40 19 
			 UK all sources 3,719 2,365 1,125 
		
	
	Emissions from diesel trains have fallen substantially in the last decade. In 2001, emissions from diesel trains accounted for approximately 0.2 per cent. of UK CO 2 emissions, compared to 0.3 per cent. in 1990. For NOx the proportion of UK emissions originating from diesel trains fell from 0.8 per cent. in 1990 to 0.6 per cent. in 2001. PM 1 0 emissions from diesel trains accounted for 0.6 per cent. of total UK emissions in 1990, reducing to 0.5 per cent. in 2001. Finally, SO 2 contributions have remained about the same over the same time period at about 0.08 per cent. of total UK emissions.
	Defra has not assessed specifically the environmental implications of emissions from diesel locomotives because they are a low proportion of total national pollutant emissions. It is however possible that these emissions might have an impact on local air quality. Local authorities have a duty to review and assess air quality outside of buildings to identify areas where it is considered likely that Air Quality Objectives will be exceeded. Some local authorities are now beginning to perform monitoring in the vicinity of rail stations.
	Under the new Non-Road Mobile Machinery Directive (97/68/EC) new railcar and locomotive engines are being addressed in two stages, from 2005 to 2007 and then again from 2011. Under the new Directive, emission standards have been set in addition to a requirement for replacement engines to meet the very latest emission limits.

Environment Council

Jimmy Hood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the outcome was of the Environment Council on 2 March; what the Government's stance was on the issues discussed, including its voting record; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: I attended the Environment Council on 2 March 2004, together with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
	The Council agreed by consensus a set of Conclusions as the contribution by Environment ministers to the Spring European Council. We were pleased with the priorities reflected in the Conclusions. They included rapid implementation of the Environmental Technologies Action Plan, a proposal that the Commission should report annually to Spring council on the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, and called on the Community and member states to consider mid and long-term emissions reduction strategies, including targets, in preparation for the 11th Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change in November 2005. We called on the Commission, in preparing its review of the EU Sustainable Development Strategy by the end of 2004, to incorporate the external dimension of sustainable development so as to contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and other international commitments.
	We held a short policy debate on the proposal for a Regulation on shipments of waste. Replying to a series of questions from the Irish Presidency to all the delegations, I indicated that any measures aimed to prevent 'eco-dumping' should work through establishing community-wide standards and preserve the internal market; that in handling mixed 'green waste', the UK would support a proportionate, risk-based approach, aligned to the OECD Decision on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Wastes Destined for Recovery Operations; and that the 'take-back'requirements of the Regulation should not be applied to 'green waste'.
	The Commission gave a progress report on the proposal for a Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). We were informed that further work is being done on assessing the impact of the proposals. There are to be policy debates in both the Competitiveness and Environment Councils, in May and June respectively. We were also updated on the progress of negotiations on the proposal for a Directive to amend the EU emissions trading scheme in respect of the Kyoto Protocol's project mechanisms. Although work remains to be done, the Presidency remained hopeful that an agreement could be reached which would also receive the early support of the European Parliament.
	There was a brief report back from the 7th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity/1st Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, noting the good progress made there on protected areas and the conservation of high seas biodiversity, and also the very good EU co-ordination.
	Other items were considered under Any Other Business and included a statement by the French delegation on the need to continue to press forward on maritime safety issues; a statement by the Belgian delegation on the protection of the marine environment, and in particular the problems of species spreading through ballast water and of by-catches of small mammals; written briefing from the Commission concerning its action plan on establishing a Global Monitoring for Environment and Security system; briefing from the Presidency on its plans to progress the proposal for a Regulation extending the Financial Instrument for the Environment (LIFE); and briefing from the Commission on its action plan on environment and health.
	Over lunch we discussed the preparations for the 8th special session of the Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum (UNEP) to be held in Jeju at the end of March, and the 12th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development to be held in New York in April.

Environmental Crime

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans the Government have to establish specialist environmental prosecutors to deal with environmental crime; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 23 February 2004
	The Government have no plans to establish specialist environmental prosecutors to deal with environmental crime. Responsibility for prosecutions for environmental crime rests with the Crown Prosecution service, the courts, the police, local authorities, HM Customs and Excise and with agencies of Government including the Environment Agency, Countryside Agency and English Nature.

EU Producer Responsibility Legislation

Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the research which (a) has been and (b) will be undertaken to measure the effect of EU producer responsibility legislation on design of environmental targets in the UK.

Elliot Morley: Producer responsibility Directives include the Packaging, End of Life Vehicles (ELV), and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directives. The WEEE and ELV Directives contain provisions on product design that are expected to increase the recyclability of vehicles and electrical and electronic equipment when they are transposed later this year.
	The Packaging Directive is implemented in England and Wales by (i) the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997 (as amended) (the packaging Regulations) and the parallel instruments in the devolved administrations; and (ii) the Packaging (Essential Requirements) Regulations 2003. The Producer Responsibility Obligations provide incentives to minimise packaging as the amount of packaging waste producers have to recover and recycle is determined, in part, by the amount of packaging they handle. Therefore businesses can save money if they reduce the amount of packaging they handle.
	The Government recently commissioned a study on the impact of the Essential Requirements Regulations, which can be viewed at: www.dti.gov.uk/sustainability/packagingfinalreport.pdf. The report highlights a number of instances where packaging has been minimised as a result of the Essential Requirements Regulations. For example one large retailer has reduced the weight of plastic packaging on a range of cosmetic products saving around 30 tonnes of plastic per year.

Farm Payments

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will list the names and addresses of (a) individuals and (b) limited companies who receive more than 10,000 in direct payments under the Common Agricultural Policy; and if she will make a statement.

Alun Michael: The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is bound by commercial confidentiality in its dealings with its customers, whether sole traders or farmers or corporations, breach of which by disclosing information relating to the affairs of individual traders or farmers or corporations would expose the RPA to the liability of legal proceedings in court.
	In relation to individual farmers or traders, information which is of a personal nature, such as individual payments to such persons, is personal data which is protected from voluntary disclosure under the Data Protection Act 1998. While the RPA can release global figures relating to payments, which do not identify individual persons, including corporations, it is unable to release individual figures without incurring the liabilities under the two principles referred to.

Flood Defences

Michael Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of flood defence barriers along the River Severn.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency's initial assessment is that the use of demountable and portable defences along the River Severn in early February was a success. The Agency estimates that around 200 properties were protected from serious flooding. A full assessment will be available in May.

Fuel Poverty

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress her Department has made pursuant to its fuel poverty strategy to secure an increase in the number of training places for (a) gas fitters and (b) installers of (i) central heating systems and (ii) energy efficiency measures.

Elliot Morley: Defra has worked together with the Department for Education and Skills, Transco and the  Gas and Water Industry National Training Organisation to fund training for 485 gas engineers to work on the Warm Front scheme.
	In October 2003 we announced an Energy Efficiency Installer Training Programme, in partnership with the heating industry, Energy Saving Trust, and the Learning and Skills Council. The programme aims to provide 70,000 engineers with the necessary skills to specify, install and maintain high-efficiency heating systems.

Marine Consents

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to publish the conclusions of the Review of Marine Consents.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 27 February 2004
	The Review is being led by my right hon. Friend the Lord Rooker, Minister of State at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. The Government are considering a range of options for reform of the current consenting regime. An announcement will be made in due course.

Over-30-months Scheme

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish the legal advice her Department uses to determine eligibility for payment under the over-30-months scheme when cattle are presented for slaughter without an official tag but with other supporting documents; and how many claims previously regarded as ineligible for want of tags have been accepted since this advice.

Alun Michael: When cattle are presented for slaughter at a designated abattoir the Rural Payments Agency must be satisfied of the origin of the animal. There is a risk that without an ear tag an animal might have been substituted. However, provided that there is some clear and unequivocal identification on the animal itself which directly links with the animal's official documentation it may be concluded that an animal can be satisfactorily identified.
	Sixty six animals initially regarded as ineligible because of a missing official tag have since been accepted onto the scheme.

Refrigerators

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for what reasons the Environment Agency has not implemented a minimum standard for the amount of ozone-depleting substances recovered from each refrigerator.

Elliot Morley: Two of the principal aims of the Ozone Depleting Substance (ODS) Regulation (EC 2037/2000) are to prevent the release of existing ODS and ensure their recovery.
	When setting performance standards the Environment Agency must have regard to the ODS Regulations and the criteria set out in Waste Management Paper No4 (WMP4). Licence conditions must be necessary, enforceable, unambiguous and comprehensive. The standard set by the Agency is based on the emission loss to the atmosphere from the process based on throughput, and the percentage loss through attachment to residual metal, plastic, foam and oil. The ODS Regulations do not require minimum recovery; only that releases are prevented and ODS recovered. The Environment Agency considers that the performance standards set meet these requirements.
	Setting a minimum standard of ODS recovered would be problematic when assessed against the aforementioned criteria and the fact that fridges accepted at the facilities do not contain an average or an assumed amount of ODS, as carried out by certain other standards.

Refrigerators

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of chlorofluorocarbons is extracted from recovered refrigerators in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) other EU member states.

Elliot Morley: To calculate the percentage of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC) from recovered refrigerators the average recovered CFCs per fridge for R11 and R12 needs to be used, which for 2003 in England and Wales are 186.13g and 50.5g respectively, and the average amount of CFCs contained in a refrigerator.
	However, there is currently no agreed figure for an average amount of CFCs in a refrigerator across member states, primarily because of the variation in size and volume of units. Therefore it is not possible to assess and compare the percentage of CFCs with any confidence. It is for this reason that the performance standards set in the UK work on the basis of emissions lost in the process and those lost through attachment to residual metal, plastic, foam and oil.

Sellafield

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent information she has received from the Environment Agency on the management of Technetium-99 radioactive wastes at Sellafield.

Elliot Morley: In September 2001 the Environment Agency published its proposed decision on the future regulation of technetium-99 (Tc-99) discharges from Sellafield into the Irish sea. In December 2002, the Secretaries of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and for Health published their decision not to exercise their powers under the Radioactive Substances Act 1993 to direct the Agency in respect to its proposed decision. The Agency's decision was, therefore, implemented in full. It contained a number of elements including a requirement to work towards the abatement of Tc-99 discharges through MAC Diversion. This technique came into operation in middle of last year. The Agency also required research to be carried out into the use of tetraphenylphosphonium bromide (TPP) to abate Tc-99 discharges still further. A plant-scale trial using TPP was carried out towards the end of last year. The results of the trial are currently being evaluated by the Agency and the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate. We look forward to hearing their conclusions, which are expected in April.

Thames Estuary

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the possible rise in sea level in the Thames Estuary as a result of (a) climate change and (b) other factors in the next (i) 25, (ii) 50 and (iii) 75 year terms; and what research her Department has (A) carried out and (B) commissioned into the subject.

Elliot Morley: The Thames Barrier was originally constructed to accommodate an 8mm per year increase in sea level, which at the time of design was extrapolated from tidal records through the Estuary. This, in principle, provides protection against a one in a 1000 year tidal surge up to 2030. Current guidance from DEFRA suggests an increase in relative sea level of up to 6mm per year is built into plans for future flood defences.
	The 6mm per year figure is intended to accommodate the impact of climate change on sea level; that is thermal expansion of the oceans and ice melt of coastal ice-sheets, as well as long-term regional land subsidence.
	Currently the Environment Agency is undertaking work to consider flood risk management options for the estuary up until 2100 under the project, Thames Estuary 2100. This will also involve making a full assessment of the risks associated with climate induced sea level, including potential changes in North Sea surges.
	Predictions for the next 100 years will be developed using UK Climate Impact Programme research combined with trends inferred from the project's investigation into absolute ground level changes. This research is currently scheduled to be completed by September 2006.

Timber

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what construction and refurbishment her Department is undertaking; at what locations; and what measures are being implemented to ensure that all timber used (a) on the construction sites and (b) in the final projects will come from legal and sustainable sources.

Elliot Morley: The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and its executive agencies are  undertaking the following construction and refurbishment projects valued at over 100,000:
	New technical buildings for the Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Weybridge;
	New farm buildings for the Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Weybridge;
	New lifts for the Rural Payments Agency, Carlisle;
	Office redevelopment in Whitehall, London;
	Office refurbishment in Millbank, London.
	Procurement centres in Defra and its executive agencies have been issued with guidance, including a model specification clause and contract condition, which explains how to seek to acquire timber and wood products from legal and sustainable sources. Contractors for the projects listed above are required to supply timber from legal and sustainable sources. Building site supervisors are instructed to monitor compliance with these contract requirements.

Toxic Waste

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which sites, broken down by region, are licensable for disposal of toxic waste; what the most recent return of annual disposal of toxic waste is; and whether each site will be licensable after the EU directives on toxic waste disposal have been fully implemented.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 23 February 2004
	I have placed a list, compiled by the Environment Agency, in the Library. This list identifies all the facilities, in alphabetical order, that had hazardous waste consigned to them in the year 2002 in England and Wales. Disposal, recovery, treatment and transfer stations are included. Sites where wastes were disposed of on the site of production are not included. The location and total quantity of hazardous waste received in 2002 are given. Most, if not all, of the non-landfill sites on this list will continue to be licensed to take hazardous waste in the future.
	In terms of the impact of the Landfill Directive, the Agency are considering applications for hazardous waste landfills from operators wishing to continue to accept hazardous waste after the ban on co-disposal (of hazardous and non-hazardous waste) comes into force in July this year in accordance with the EU Landfill Directive. In addition, other landfill sites, classified as non-hazardous, may opt to accept stable non-reactive waste in separately constructed cells. Both these issues are being kept under regular review. Not all hazardous wastes are toxic and the Landfill Directive specifically bans hazardous wastes that are explosive, corrosive, oxidising or flammable from being disposed of to landfill.

US Vessels

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Suffolk, Coastal (Mr. Gummer) of 29 January 2004, Official Report, column 494W, on US vessels, what discussions took place with (a) the US authorities and (b) the US Marine Administration before the departure of the vessels; what requests were made; what replies to these requests were received; and if she will make a statement.

Elliot Morley: The Environment Agency had a number of discussions with the US Marine Administration (MARAD) and the US Environmental Protection Agency prior to the departure of the vessels regarding the export of the vessels to the UK.
	The Agency encouraged contact between MARAD and Hartlepool borough council in late September regarding the matter of planning permission for the Graythorp facility. At about the same time, the Agency spoke to the United States' Environmental Protection Agency about this matter. In October and prior to the departure of the vessels the Environment Agency, on several occasions in telephone calls and emails, advised MARAD to keep the vessels in the US until they were satisfied that all necessary arrangements were in place. No formal response was received.
	The UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency had discussions with both MARAD and the US Coastguard regarding the safety of the vessels, their planned route and their towing arrangements.

Village/Community Halls

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what work she has commissioned into (a) the value to communities of village and community halls and (b) the repair and renovation needs of village and community halls.

Alun Michael: I have discussed this issue with ACRE, The Village Halls Forum and other stakeholders, and Defra is about to commission research on the repair and renovation needs of village halls and on the value of the activities that take place in village halls to the communities they serve.

Warm Front Scheme

David Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what instructions her Department issued to Warm Front scheme managers on the publication on their websites of monthly statistical data relating to works carried out under the scheme.

Elliot Morley: holding answer 27 February 2004
	Both Warm Front Scheme Managers have been asked to provide details on their websites of the number of measures installed in each quarter. That information is now available for the current financial year from 1 April to 31 December 2003.
	Annual data from the start of the scheme in June 2000 will be available on their websites shortly.

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department has taken to alert producers of hazardous waste to their obligations under the Landfill Directive.

Elliot Morley: The Department has taken the following actions:
	conducted six rounds of public consultation on aspects of the Landfill Directive, three of which dealt specifically (although not exclusively) with hazardous waste issues;
	set up the Hazardous Waste Forum and the Landfill Directive Implementation Groupwhose membership includes representatives of hazardous waste producers such as the -CBI and the Chemical Industries Association;
	published the Hazardous Waste Forum action plan on the reduction and environmentally sound management of hazardous waste;
	assisted in the issue of guidance material by the Environment Agency, including technical guidance on assessing and classifying hazardous waste;
	organised seminars and took part in those organised by others (e.g. the Environmental Services Association and the Chemical Industries Association);
	arranged bilateral meetings with a wide range of industry and other interests;
	commissioned research and other projects (either direct or though the Hazardous Waste Forum or the Environment Agency).

Waste

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what limitations on (a) volume and (b) duration apply to on-site storage by producers of hazardous materials before such materials are classified as waste.

Elliot Morley: The definition of waste in force in the United Kingdom is the definition in Article 1(a) of the Waste Framework Directive (as amended). It provides that waste means, . . . any substance or object . . . which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard.
	It rests in the first place with the producer of a substance to decide whether it is being discarded as waste. The Environment Agency is designated as a competent authority for the purposes of the Directive and is responsible for the application of its controls to substances discarded as waste.
	Whether or not substances, such as hazardous materials, are discarded as waste is a matter which must be determined on the facts of the case and the interpretation of the law is a matter for the Courts. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has issued several judgments on the interpretation of the definition of waste and the meaning of discard. ECJ judgments are binding on member states and their competent authorities.
	There are no specific limits on (a) volume and (b) duration of storage of hazardous materials to determine whether they have been discarded as waste. However, the long term storage of materials with little intention or certainty of future use, or that no use for the material other than disposal can be envisaged, may be an indication that the material has been discarded as waste.
	Where hazardous materials have been discarded as waste, the Government have provided an exemption for the temporary storage of hazardous waste at the place of production in paragraph 41 of Schedule 3 of the Waste Management Licensing Regulations 1994. This allows for the temporary storage at the place of production, pending collection, for a period not exceeding 12 months of:
	80 cubic metres of waste in a secure container; or
	50 cubic metres of waste in a secure place; or
	23,000 litres of liquid waste in a secure container.

Waste

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will introduce measures to compensate households who suffer noise and smells from landfill sites.

Elliot Morley: There are no plans to introduce a compensation scheme. Measures are already in place to control noise and smells from landfill sites.
	The EU Waste Framework Directive requires member states to put in place necessary measures to ensure that controlled waste is recovered or disposed of without harm to human health and the environment. This is done in the UK by means of a Waste Management licence which is issued and regulated by the Environment Agency. The Environment Agency has a range of enforcement tools which it can use to ensure licence conditions are met.
	Also, in order to obtain such a licence for a landfill site, planning permission would be needed which should address the issue of likely nuisance to local residents.

Westminster Hall

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make it her policy to have senior Ministers reply to debates in Westminster Hall.

Alun Michael: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to him by my right hon. Friend , the Leader of the House on 8 March, Official Report, column 1234W.

CABINET OFFICE

Asbestos

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of buildings occupied by (a) staff of the Department and (b) staff of the Department's executive agencies have been surveyed for the purpose of identifying the presence of asbestos prior to implementation of the control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002.

Douglas Alexander: All of the buildings occupied by, and which are the direct responsibility of the Cabinet Office, the Government Car and Despatch Agency and the Central Office of Information have been surveyed for the purpose of identifying the presence of asbestos. The respective landlords for buildings occupied but not controlled by the Cabinet Office, are responsible for the control of any asbestos present.

Civil Service Code

Adam Price: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what procedures are followed when a breach of the Civil Service Code is suspected; and who is responsible for their oversight.

Douglas Alexander: Departmental Staff Handbooks, which incorporate the Civil Service Code, define the standards of conduct required of civil servants within individual departments, the penalties they may incur if they fall short of them, and the arrangements for raising breaches or concerns under the Civil Service Code.

Emergency Planning College

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much has been spent at the Emergency Planning College at Easingwold on new classrooms and accommodation over the past two years; and how much was spent on new training equipment in the same period.

Douglas Alexander: Work Started in August 2003 on a 7 million programme to replace the Emergency Planning College's student residential accommodation, training and seminar rooms, library, research facilities and integral IT and audio-visual training equipment. The programme will provide a modern learning environment for the new courses that the college will deliver from September 2004 onwards.
	Owing to the planned demolition of the old classroom block to make way for the new building, the college has limited expenditure on new training equipment in the past two years to 10,000, the minimum necessary to sustain teaching in temporary accommodation.
	The College has a range of other projects to enhance its training, including development of a distance and e-learning capability, which involves spending 180,000 over the next four years on systems, materials and products.

EU-sourced Legislation

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of statutory instruments introduced by his Department in (a) 199697 and (b) 200203 had the European Union as their legislative source.

Douglas Alexander: None of the statutory instruments introduced by the Cabinet Office in 199697 or 200203 had the European Union as their legislative source.

DEFENCE

Defence Fire Service

John Grogan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the transfer of the Defence Fire Service to a public private partnership would require parliamentary approval.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 8 March 2004
	The Airfield Support Services Project (ASSP) is seeking the most cost effective and viable solution for the provision of airfield support services, including wider fire services, without compromising operational capability and/or safety. No decision has yet been made about the outcome of this project and we will only do so following full and careful consideration of all the options. Although we are moving towards this point, I am not yet in a position to say exactly when this will be.
	If a Public Private Partnership were to be chosen as the preferred way ahead for ASSP, the Secretary of State would retain his position as the Fire Authority and no change in legislation would be required.

Defence Finance

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the final provision and outturn for Request for Resources 1 Provision of Defence Capability, were in cash terms, for financial years (a) 200102 and (b) 200203.

Adam Ingram: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Deployment

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the (a) Royal Navy and Royal Marines, (b) Army and (c) Royal Air Force trained strength were deployed on operations and other military tasks for each quarter for (i) each calendar year from 1997 to 2001 and (ii) 2003.

Adam Ingram: Information has only been collected in the form requested since the beginning of financial year 200102. Figures for 200102 and 200203 were published in the Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 200203 (HC1125). Comparable figures for the first three quarters of 2003/04 are:
	
		Percentage
		
			  200304 
			  April to June July to September October to December 
		
		
			 Royal Navy (incl. Marines) 18.7 12.8 14.0 
			 Army 46.9 23.2 22.9 
			 Air Force 16.5 13.0 12.9 
		
	
	These percentages do not include personnel preparing for operations or recovering from operations.
	Similar information on the percentage of trained strength committed to operations in 200001 was published in the December 2001 answer given on 10 December 2001 to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Official Report, column 532W), but this was not on a directly comparable basis.
	Summary information on commitment levels for 199899 and 19992000 was published in the respective Ministry of Defence Performance Reports (CM4520, Cm. 5000). Again, this information was not compiled on a comparable basis to that set out above. Quarterly information on these years, and further information for years predating the 1998 Strategic Defence Review, is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Documents

Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which documents are held by his Department written by (a) P. H. Pearse, (b) Thomas J. Clarke, (c) Thomas Macdonagh, (d) Edward Daly, (e) William Pearse, (f) Michael O'Hanrahan, (g) Joseph Mary Plunkett, (h) John MacBride, (i) Sean Heuston, (j) Michael Mallin, (k) Eamonn Ceannt, (l) Con Colbert, (m) Thomas Kent, (n) Sean MacDiarmada, (o) James Connolly and (p) Sir Roger Casement.

Adam Ingram: I am not aware of any documents held by the Ministry of Defence written by those listed. However, a full answer could be given only after detailed research covering a large number of documents, which would involve disproportionate cost. The National Archives at Kew holds records (primarily in class WO71) relating to these individuals which were formerly held by MOD.

Falkland Islands

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the role of the military base at Mount Pleasant on the Falkland Islands.

Adam Ingram: Mount Pleasant Complex is the base for the majority of British military forces in support of the mission of Commander British Forces.

Gibraltar

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what role the Ministry of Defence is playing in the 300th anniversary of British rule in Gibraltar; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I refer my hon. Friend to the Statement made to the House on 27 November 2003 (columns 224225) by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence.

Iraq

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Iraqi men have died while being held in British military custody in Iraq; what the cause of death was in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 4 December 2003, (Official Report, column 127W) to my hon. Friend the Member for Leyton and Wanstead (Harry Cohen).
	Cause of death is not something for investigating Royal Military Police personnel to determine.

Iraq

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the investigation into the death, in British custody, of Baha Mousa, in Iraq; when the investigation is likely to be completed; and whether the findings will be made public.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 4 March 2004, Official Report, column 1050W. The result of the investigation will be made public in due course.

Iraq

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will hold an independent public inquiry into the deaths of the six Royal Military police officers from the Colchester garrison who were killed in Iraq.

Geoff Hoon: The Royal Military Police's Special Investigations Branch is conducting a thorough investigation into the deaths of the soldiers. The conduct of such investigations is independent of the Army's chain of command. When the investigation has been completed a full report will be given to the families concerned. I will make public as many of its findings as possible, subject to operational and other security constraints.

Operation Artemis

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the cost is of the use of members of the armed forces for covert surveillance on upland estates as part of Operation Artemis;
	(2)  how many army units will take part in covert surveillance on upland estates as part of Operation Artemis;
	(3)  what impact the deployment of members of the armed forces for covert surveillance on upland estates will have on the British Army's military obligations overseas.

Adam Ingram: None. No requests for assistance have been received from Civil Police for such assistance this year.

Operaton Telic

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of UK operations during the war in Iraq Operation Telic represents.

Adam Ingram: Operation Telic is the on-going UK contribution to coalition military operations in Iraq, not a fraction of it.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much (a) has been spent and (b) investment is planned on research and design of unmanned aerial vehicles.

Adam Ingram: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 11 November 2003, (Official Report, column 183W). The figures provided do not differentiate between research and research and design and the two terms are to be taken as synonymous in this context.
	The Ministry of Defence considers that UAVs have the potential to make significant contributions to future operations and is in the process of assembling its future research programme in support of the development of UAV-based capabilities. The investment plans are still subject to refinement and confirmation.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether unmanned aerial vehicles will operate with (a) air squadrons and (b) the fleet air arm.

Adam Ingram: We expect Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to be a joint capability for the joint battlespace. By integrating them into the emerging military command and control digitised network they will support Network Enabled Capability (NEC). At this stage we envisage them operating primarily within the land environment but we are exploring the wider operational utility of UAV systems in the joint battlespace, including the maritime environment, through the Joint UAV Experimentation Programme (JUEP). And under the Future Offensive Air System programme we expect to look at a potential mix of platforms, including Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles (UCAVs), to meet our future strike capability from around the end of the next decade.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Broadband

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry who will be responsible for providing the European Commission with information on the UK's national strategy on growth in the broadband and third-generation mobile sectors prior to  the next meeting of the Inter-Governmental Conference; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: The Department of Trade and Industry supplied the European Commission with information on the UK's national strategy on growth in the broadband and third-generation mobile sectors on 19 December 2003.
	The UK was a late starter in relation to broadband, but with 3.2 million subscriptions to date and growing by some 40,000 per week the market is now exhibiting strong growth. Our target remains for the UK to have the most extensive and competitive broadband market in the G7 by 2005. We are already ahead of our European G7 neighbours in both the competitiveness and extensiveness of our broadband market.

Conferences and Seminars

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry 
	(1)  how many conferences and seminars the Department has cancelled since June 2001; and what the cost of these cancellations was;
	(2)  how many (a) conferences and (b) seminars the Department has held since June 2001; and what the cost was in each case.

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many (a) conferences and (b) seminars were convened by her Department in each year since 1997; what the costs were of each event; and how many were cancelled.

Patricia Hewitt: The Department does not maintain a central register of conferences and seminars held and is therefore unable to provide the numbers and costs requested.

Disability Discrimination Act

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures her Department is taking to prepare (a) businesses and (b) service providers for the implementation of the parts of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 which come into effect later this year.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 11 March 2004
	My Department is working with colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that information is available from a variety of sources such as free information packs, videos, websites and conferences.
	This will complement the Open4All campaign being undertaken by the Disability Rights Commission. The Small Business Service will update its No-Nonsense Guide available to small business through Business Link Operators.

Electricity Prices

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the current price levels for electricity supplied to domestic customers are, broken down by supplier; and what the average electricity bill was for each region in the last year for which figures are available.

Stephen Timms: Current price levels for domestic electricity supply by supplier are dependent on a number of factors, including the nature of the tariff which the customer has chosen; whether the customer is with their home supplier or has switched; how the customer chooses to make their payments (direct debit is usually cheaper than both standard credit and prepayment meter options); and on levels of consumption. Customers are able to make comparisons via the Energywatch website for tariffs in their own areas.
	DTI conducts a survey of domestic electricity suppliers that collects data on their tariffs and customer numbers. This data is provided on the assurance that it will not be possible to identify individual companies from the results published. Therefore, average prices broken down by supplier cannot be provided, although regional averages can. These figures are used to produce average electricity comparisons for cities in the UK regions published in the Quarterly Energy Prices publication and on DTI's website at www.dti.gov.uk/energy/inform/energy prices/index.shtml. The relevant table is reproduced as follows:
	
		Table 2.2.3 Average annual domestic electricity bills(1) in 2003 for selected towns and cities in the UK and average unit costs(2) -- Pence per kWh and pounds
		
			 Payment type  Credit Direct debit Prepayment 
			 Town/city(3) Bill range(4) Unit cost Bill Unit cost Bill Unit cost Bill 
		
		
			 Aberdeen Largest 8.52 281 8.09 267 9.03 298 
			  Average 8.33 275 7.85 259 8.42 278 
			  Smallest 6.79 224 6.76 223 7.36 243 
			 
			 Belfast Average(5) 9.85 325 9.55 315 9.70 320 
			 
			 Birmingham Largest 7.39 244 7.15 236 8.00 264 
			  Average 7.21 238 6.91 228 7.70 254 
			  Smallest 6.21 205 6.45 213 7.12 235 
			 
			 Canterbury Largest 8.45 279 7.97 263 8.52 281 
			  Average 7.30 241 6.94 229 7.39 244 
			  Smallest 6.48 214 6.24 206 6.64 219 
			 
			 Cardiff Largest 8.82 291 8.42 278 9.94 328 
			  Average 8.58 283 8.18 270 9.12 301 
			  Smallest 7.61 251 7.21 238 8.33 275 
			 
			 Edinburgh Largest 9.09 300 8.42 278 9.15 302 
			  Average 8.06 266 7.82 258 8.52 281 
			  Smallest 7.55 249 7.33 242 8.12 268 
			 Ipswich Largest 7.48 247 7.09 234 8.18 270 
			  Average 6.85 226 6.58 217 7.24 239 
			  Smallest 6.15 203 5.85 193 6.67 220 
			 
			 Leeds Largest 8.52 281 7.36 243 8.36 276 
			  Average 7.24 239 6.94 229 7.70 254 
			  Smallest 6.70 221 6.04 199 7.15 236 
			 
			 Liverpool Largest 8.21 271 8.12 268 9.03 298 
			  Average 7.91 261 7.67 253 8.12 268 
			  Smallest 6.79 224 6.58 217 7.52 248 
			 
			 London Largest 7.70 254 7.70 254 8.42 278 
			  Average 7.55 249 7.30 241 7.67 253 
			  Smallest 6.55 216 6.24 206 7.33 242 
			 
			 Manchester Largest 8.00 264 7.27 240 8.97 296 
			  Average 7.12 235 6.82 225 7.64 252 
			  Smallest 6.52 215 6.27 207 6.91 228 
			 
			 Newcastle Largest 9.45 312 8.94 295 8.61 284 
			  Average 7.58 250 7.33 242 8.15 269 
			  Largest 6.67 220 6.21 205 7.06 233 
			 
			 Nottingham Largest 7.24 239 7.15 236 8.52 281 
			  Average 6.91 228 6.55 216 7.48 247 
			  Largest 6.48 214 6.15 203 6.94 229 
			 
			 
			 Plymouth Largest 8.39 277 8.33 275 9.18 303 
			  Average 8.15 269 7.85 259 8.15 269 
			  Smallest 7.30 241 6.94 229 7.82 258 
			 
			 Southampton Largest 8.67 286 8.21 271 8.61 284 
			  Average 7.73 255 7.27 240 8.27 273 
			  Smallest 6.64 219 6.48 214 7.03 232 
			 
			 UK Largest 9.85 325 9.58 316 9.94 328 
			  Average 7.58 250 7.21 238 8.05 266 
			  Smallest 6.15 203 5.85 193 6.64 219 
		
	
	(1) All bills are calculated assuming an annual consumption of 3,300 kWh. They are calculated as weighted (by average customer numbers) averages of individual tariff bills. Figures are inclusive of VAT. 2003 bills relate to the total bill received during the year, which covers consumption from Q4 2002 to Q3 2003.
	(2) Unit costs are calculated by dividing the bills shown by the relevant consumption levels.
	(3) The towns/cities specified indicate which electricity region these bills apply to (see Table A2 in Annex A).
	(4) The largest and smallest annual all tariff average company electricity bills and unit costs.
	(5) There is no competition in electricity in Belfast, therefore no smallest/largest tariffs available.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what consultations she has conducted with (a) trade associations and (b) the British Ceramic Confederation on the national allocation plan of the Emissions Trading Scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: As part of the Government's consultation, DTI and Defra officials have held a series of meetings with trade associations and other interested stakeholders to discuss the UK's draft National Allocation Plan for the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. This included a meeting with the British Ceramic Confederation on 27 February 2004.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what representations she has received from industry on the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.

Stephen Timms: We have received numerous representations from companies, trade associations and other business organisations about the Government's proposals for implementing the EU Emissions Trading Scheme in the UK.

EU Emissions Trading Scheme

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the principal guidelines were for the national allocation of emission allowances; and if she will make a statement on the overall transparency of the process.

Stephen Timms: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment on 19 January 2004, Official Report, columns 5354WS, about the publication of a consultation paper on a draft National Allocation Plan for the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) which sets out the Government's proposals for allocating allowances under the scheme.
	The Government have conducted two consultations on the UK's draft National Allocation Plan and has involved businesses that will be covered by the EU ETS and other interested stakeholders at every stage of the preparations. Business and interested stakeholders will have a further opportunity to comment before the final allocation decision is taken in October 2004. Information on the EU Emissions Trading Scheme can be found on the DTI and Defra websites:
	www.dti.gov.uk/energy/sepn/euets.shtml andwww.defra.gov.uk/enviromnent/climatechange/trading/eu/index.htm.

EU Match Funding

Annabelle Ewing: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much matched EU funding was made available by her Department in each year since 1997, broken down by nation of the United Kingdom.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 9 March 2004
	Details of funds distributed by DTI to match European Structural Funds are not recorded centrally, and could therefore be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Since the devolution arrangements for Scotland and Wales were established in 1999, with responsibility for the financing of European Structural Funds transferred to the devolved Administrations, DTI match funding has been restricted to England.

Internet (Child Pornography)

Debra Shipley: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures she has taken to encourage internet service providers to take action to contact child pornography websites.

Stephen Timms: The Government support the work of the Internet Watch Foundation, which was established by the internet industry in consultation with Government. The Internet Watch Foundation works in partnership with internet service providers, telecommunications companies, mobile operators, software providers, police and Government, to minimise the availability of illegal internet content, particularly child abuse images. Their Internet Hotline deals with reports of potentially illegal internet content, such as websites, newsgroups and online groups that contain: images of child abuse anywhere in the world; adult material that potentially breaches the Obscene Publications Act in the UK; and criminally racist material in the UK.
	One measure of the success of this self-regulatory approach is that less than 2 per cent. of the illegal content reported to the IWF relates to material hosted in the UK.

Ofgem

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when Ofgem will publish the outcome of its consultation on transmission investment and renewable generation.

Stephen Timms: I understand that Ofgem expects to publish the outcome of this consultation in April, together with a proposed timetable for taking work forward.

Post Office Closures

Bill O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many people in the Normanton constituency live within a mile of a post office following the Post Office closure programme by Post Office Ltd.; and if she will make a statement.

Stephen Timms: Post Office Ltd. is committed to ensuring that at the end of the urban reinvention programme nationally 95 per cent. of the urban population will still live within one mile of a post office and the majority within half a mile. This information is not collected, however, for each constituency.
	In the case of Normanton constituency four offices are to close under Post Office Ltd.'s urban reinvention programme. All have alternative offices within 1 mile.

Procurement Policy

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in what ways environmentally sustainable procurement strategies within the Department have driven innovation in the design and supply of products.

Patricia Hewitt: I refer to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Environment on 10 March 2004, Official Report, columns 1542543W.
	Within the framework of this overall approach, DTI is contributing towards encouraging environmental innovation through public procurement in a number of ways, including:
	Participating in the development of the procurement aspects of the Framework for Sustainable Development on the Government Estate. It is expected that the forthcoming procurement section will set Government-wide commitments for embedding sustainable development considerations in Departmental procurement strategies.
	Taking forward the commitment in the Government's Innovation Report to ask its industry-led Innovation and Growth Teams (IGT) to identify where public procurement could better facilitate innovation and how this could be achieved, including setting up an Environmental Innovation Procurement Group (EIPG) to use procurement to drive innovation in the environmental industries.
	Led by the Joint DTI/Defra Environmental Markets Unit (JEMU), the EIPG comprises business and other stakeholders and is working to tackle actual and perceived barriers, such as cost, risk, skills, information and inertia to the procurement of innovative environmental technologies, products and services by the public sector.

Radioactive Waste

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry pursuant to the answer of 5 March 2004, Official Report, column 1180W, on radioactive waste, what her policy is on making Nirex independent of the industry.

Stephen Timms: The review of Nirex announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 16 July 2003 is not yet complete. Government decisions on Nirex will be informed by the outcome of the review.

Renewable Energy

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the reasons underlying the percentage target for energy from renewable sources.

Stephen Timms: The Government's energy policy sets out four main goals:
	In line with the royal Commission on Environmental Pollution's (RCEP's) recommendation, to work towards cutting emissions of carbon dioxide by some 60 per cent. by around 2050,
	To maintain the reliability of energy supplies,
	To promote competitive energy markets in the UK and beyond,
	To ensure that every home is adequately and affordably heated.
	Renewable forms of energy will play a key role in helping us to meet these goals. In January 2000, the Government announced their intention to set a target of 10 per cent. of UK electricity from renewables by 2010, subject to the costs being acceptable to the consumer. The target was set at a level considered to be challenging and yet achievable.

Underground Power Lines (Thames Gateway)

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what discussions she has had with (a) the utility companies, (b) ministerial colleagues and (c) local regeneration agencies on undergrounding power lines in the Thames Gateway.

Stephen Timms: The Department of Trade and Industry is fully committed to regeneration and growth in the Thames Gateway and are aware that it contains an unusual concentration of overhead power lines. My officials have been working closely with ODPM, other Government Departments and the local regeneration agencies to consider whether some of these might be undergrounded or re-routed. They have also had meetings with the utility company responsible for most of the lines involved and with developers working in the Gateway. Ministers have been kept regularly informed of progress and have had discussions with counterparts in other Departments.

Underground Power Lines (Thames Gateway)

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate she has made of the cost of undergrounding power lines in the Thames Gateway; and what resources she has made available to help with the cost of undergrounding power lines in the major development sites in the Thames Gateway.

Stephen Timms: Discussions regarding estimates of the costs of undergrounding some sections of the power lines in the Thames Gateway have been taking place between developers working in the Gateway and the utility companies involved. These discussions are continuing. The Department of Trade and Industry has no provision for the cost of undergrounding lines.

Underground Power Lines (Thames Gateway)

Jon Cruddas: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what her strategy is for undergrounding power cables on the major development sites in the Thames Gateway.

Stephen Timms: Undergrounding is one of the options being considered for power lines in the Thames Gateway. Others include re-routeing and keeping lines in situ. The developers working on the major sites in the Gateway are preparing an analysis of those sections of line where they consider undergrounding to be important. As soon as this is available it will be discussed with the various Government bodies involved and the relevant utility companies. This approach will enable a more strategic view to be taken across the Gateway than an approach based on ad hoc consideration of the position on individual sites.

Wind Turbines

Robert Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will investigate how far away wind turbines are required to be sited from houses in (a) Denmark, (b) Germany and (c) the United States to avoid the risk of ill effects on their inhabitants, and then report to Parliament the implications for the United Kingdom.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 11 March 2004
	We are investigating availability of the information requested with the International Energy Agency and will provide a response once received.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Disability Discrimination Act

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures his Department is taking to prepare education institutions for the implementation of the parts of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 which come into effect later this year.

Charles Clarke: holding answer 11 March 2004
	The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA) makes provision in Part 2 about discrimination in the employment field; in Part 3 about discrimination by providers of goods, facilities and services to the public or a section of the public; in Part 4 about discrimination in the education field (Chapter 1 deals with schools and Chapter 2 with Further and Higher Education); and Part 5 about public transport.
	The DDA will shortly be amended by the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Amendment) Regulations 2003 (the 2003 Regulations) coming into force on 1 October 2004. These Regulations largely implement the requirements of the disability strand of the Employment Directive (Directive 2000/78/EC). Substantial amendments are made to Part 2 of the DDA and also in one area of Part 3, namely that of employment services. The 2003 Regulations do not, however, implement the Directive's requirements in relation to qualifications, vocational guidance and vocational training insofar as those requirements impact on areas covered by Part 4 of the DDA. Separate Regulations implementing the Directive in relation to Part 4 will be made by the Secretary of State for Education and Skills in due course. Therefore, with regard to the 2003 Regulations, educational institutions, as providers of education, will not be affected by the changes which come into force on 1 October 2004.
	The DDA was amended by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 (SENDA), which largely addresses the requirements of the Employment Directive in relation to vocational training in education institutions. The next amendment under SENDA, in relation to education, is not due for implementation until 2005 when a duty in further and higher education regarding 'premises' comes into force. At this point only the implementation of the DDA Part 3 affecting premises of service providers (but excluding education institutions) will remain. DfES will consult on any proposed changes needed to bring the Employment Directive fully into effect, but will not bring those amendments in before the final SENDA provisions are implemented in 2005.
	The Department of Trade and Industry is responsible for taking measures to prepare employers for the changes under part 2 of the DDA.

Foundation Degrees

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the (a) participation rates in and (b) drop out rates from higher education were in the last period for which figures are available, broken down by (i) parliamentary constituency and (ii) local education authority.

Alan Johnson: Participation rates at constituency level are not held centrally. The available information on participation rates by Local Education Authority (LEA) is taken from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) and covers 18-year-old applicants who were accepted to full time undergraduate courses in the UK. Figures for the latest year are in the table.
	Non-completion rates by student domicile are not calculated by the Department. The available information on non-completion rates by institution of study is published annually by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in the publication 'Performance Indicators in Higher Education in the UK', a copy of which is in the House Library.
	
		Proportion of English domiciled students aged 18 accepted through UCAS to full-time undergraduate courses in the UK, by LEA of domicile: autumn 2002 entry
		
			 Local education authority (LEA) 17-year-old population in 2001 18-year-olds accepted to HE in 2002 Proportion entering Higher Education (%) 
		
		
			 Barking 1,965 268 13.6 
			 Barnet 3,958 1,279 32.3 
			 Barnsley 2,714 409 15.1 
			 Bath and NE Somerset 1,937 450 23.2 
			 Bedfordshire 4,629 1,149 24.8 
			 Bexley 2,657 539 20.3 
			 Birmingham 1,3647 2,576 18.9 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 1,982 375 18.9 
			 Blackpool 1,641 272 16.6 
			 Bolton 3,539 734 20.7 
			 Bournemouth 1,550 368 23.7 
			 Bracknell Forest 1,509 272 18.0 
			 Bradford 6,860 1,279 18.6 
			 Brent 3,080 1,053 34.2 
			 Brighton and Hove 2,487 446 17.9 
			 Bristol, City of 4,448 1,038 23.3 
			 Bromley 3,145 1,037 33.0 
			 Buckinghamshire 6,047 1,905 31.5 
			 Bury 2,349 596 25.4 
			 Calderdale 2,410 522 21.7 
			 Cambridgeshire 7,001 1,532 21.9 
			 Camden 1,980 402 20.3 
			 Cheshire 8,303 2,594 31.2 
			 City of London 44 58 131.8 
			 Cornwall (including Isles of Scilly) 6,185 1,280 20.7 
			 Coventry 4,058 773 19.0 
			 Croydon 4,077 1,011 24.8 
			 Cumbria 5,922 1,340 22.6 
			 Darlington 1,260 288 22.9 
			 Derby 2,858 530 18.5 
			 Derbyshire 8,503 1,911 22.5 
			 Devon 8,290 1,738 21.0 
			 Doncaster 3,794 682 18.0 
			 Dorset 4,728 973 20.6 
			 Dudley 3,656 730 20.0 
			 Durham 6,382 1,222 19.1 
			 Ealing 3,696 1,086 29.4 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 4,014 880 21.9 
			 East Sussex 5,921 1,191 20.1 
			 Enfield 3,017 931 30.9 
			 Essex 15,622 3,584 22.9 
			 Gateshead 2,542 443 17.4 
			 Gloucestershire 6,944 1,733 25.0 
			 Greenwich 2,755 393 14.3 
			 Hackney 2,706 331 12.2 
			 Halton 1,806 285 15.8 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 1,484 291 19.6 
			 Hampshire 16,286 3543 21.8 
			 Haringey 2,389 487 20.4 
			 Harrow 2,843 1,120 39.4 
			 Hartlepool 1,268 230 18.1 
			 Havering 2,756 428 15.5 
			 Herefordshire 2,030 508 25.0 
			 Hertfordshire 12,274 3,572 29.1 
			 Hillingdon 2,961 798 27.0 
			 Hounslow 2,470 676 27.4 
			 Isle of Wight 1,537 294 19.1 
			 Islington 2,044 329 16.1 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 1,680 334 19.9 
			 Kent 16,488 3,863 23.4 
			 Kingston-upon-Hull, City of 3,289 417 12.7 
			 Kingston-upon-Thames 1,608 524 32.6 
			 Kirklees 4,956 1,114 22.5 
			 Knowsley 2,303 311 13.5 
			 Lambeth 2,916 496 17.0 
			 Lancashire 14,823 3,511 23.7 
			 Leeds 8,541 1,699 19.9 
			 Leicester 3,928 833 21.2 
			 Leicestershire 7,607 1,854 24.4 
			 Lewisham 2,838 474 16.7 
			 Lincolnshire 7,769 1,842 23.7 
			 Liverpool 6,041 1,101 18.2 
			 Luton 2,423 474 19.6 
			 Manchester 6,272 762 12.1 
			 Medway 3,146 601 19.1 
			 Merton 2,005 530 26.4 
			 Middlesbrough 2,055 379 18.4 
			 Milton Keynes 2,870 522 18.2 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 3,383 826 24.4 
			 Newham 3,515 675 19.2 
			 Norfolk 9,010 1,642 18.2 
			 North East Lincolnshire 2,151 312 14.5 
			 North Lincolnshire 2,030 378 18.6 
			 North Somerset 2,336 498 21.3 
			 North Tyneside 2,334 412 17.7 
			 North Yorkshire 7,235 1,850 25.6 
			 Northamptonshire 7,987 1,681 21.0 
			 Northumberland 4,054 964 23.8 
			 Nottingham 3,449 502 14.6 
			 Nottinghamshire 9,302 1,897 20.4 
			 Oldham 3,037 632 20.8 
			 Oxfordshire 7,732 1,700 22.0 
			 Peterborough 2,176 351 16.1 
			 Plymouth 3,161 547 17.3 
			 Poole 1,713 298 17.4 
			 Portsmouth 2,250 385 17.1 
			 Reading 1,640 388 23.7 
			 Redbridge 3,097 1,081 34.9 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 1,949 334 17.1 
			 Richmond upon Thames 1,858 563 30.3 
			 Rochdale 2,762 515 18.6 
			 Rotherham 3,165 530 16.7 
			 Rutland 585 112 19.1 
			 Salford 2,774 376 13.6 
			 Sandwell 3,679 536 14.6 
			 Sefton 3,552 971 27.3 
			 Sheffield 5,998 1,082 18.0 
			 Shropshire 3,554 935 26.3 
			 Slough 1,464 328 22.4 
			 Solihull 2,617 775 29.6 
			 Somerset 6,413 1,337 20.8 
			 South Gloucestershire 2,869 426 14.8 
			 South Tyneside 2,034 353 17.4 
			 Southampton 2,334 427 18.3 
			 Southend on Sea 1,974 355 18.0 
			 Southwark 2,556 401 15.7 
			 St. Helens 2,207 497 22.5 
			 Staffordshire 10,134 2,476 24.4 
			 Stockport 3679 980 26.6 
			 Stockton on Tees 2,552 586 23.0 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 2,951 431 14.6 
			 Suffolk 8,107 1,787 22.0 
			 Sunderland 3,787 612 16.2 
			 Surrey 12,958 3,763 29.0 
			 Sutton 1,933 591 30.6 
			 Swindon 2,260 369 16.3 
			 Tameside 2,847 448 15.7 
			 Telford and Wrekin 2,098 408 19.4 
			 Thurrock 1,631 184 11.3 
			 Torbay 1,480 300 20.3 
			 Tower Hamlets 2,797 408 14.6 
			 Trafford 2,784 736 26.4 
			 Wakefield 3,868 713 18.4 
			 Walsall 3,390 642 18.9 
			 Waltham Forest 2,563 553 21.6 
			 Wandsworth 2,177 514 23.6 
			 Warrington 2,376 551 23.2 
			 Warwickshire 6,271 1,575 25.1 
			 West Berkshire 2,167 437 20.2 
			 West Sussex 8,838 1,912 21.6 
			 Westminster 2,098 356 17.0 
			 Wigan 3,799 708 18.6 
			 Wiltshire 5,721 1,321 23.1 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 1,835 522 28.4 
			 Wirral 4,247 1,049 24.7 
			 Wokingham 2,002 654 32.7 
			 Wolverhampton 3,146 710 22.6 
			 Worcestershire 6,586 1,640 24.9 
			 York 2,037 572 28.1 
			 Total England 613,573 134,785 22.0 
		
	
	Notes:1. The effect of year on year fluctuations on a small population mean that this method of calculating participation rates is unreliable for the City of London.Participation rates have been calculated using the 17-year-old population from the previous year to reduce the distortion caused to LEA populations by the migration of students to their place of study. However, any migration, for whatever reason, at age 17 will affect the rates shown here, particularly between authorities that are geographically close, for example in the London area.Accepted applicants with unknown English domiciles are excluded from the figures.Population figures relate to persons aged 17 as at 31 August in the year prior to entry, counts taken at the following 1 January; accepted applicants are aged 18 at 30 September in the year of entry.

Further/Higher Education

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many (a) 16, (b) 17, (c) 18, (d) 19, (e) 20 and (f) 21-year-olds were in further education in the last year for which figures are available.

Alan Johnson: The information is contained in table 3.8 of the Statistical Volume Education and Training Statistics for the United Kingdom: 2003 edition, a copy of which is available in the Library. The publication is also available online at: http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgatewav/DB/VOL/v000431/index.shtml.

Further/Higher Education

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many undergraduates domiciled in England under the age of 24 entered a UK university in each of the last five years; and how many pupils domiciled in England were in upper sixth form education in each of the last six years;
	(2)  how many undergraduates domiciled in England under the age of 24 his Department expects to enter a UK university in each of the next six years; and how many pupils domiciled in England his Department expects will attend upper sixth form education in each of the next five years.

Alan Johnson: Figures for undergraduates entering UK HE institutions for the last five years are in the table. Projections are not available at this level.
	
		English domiciled students under the age of 24 entering UK HEIs
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 199798 238,703 
			 199899 242,840 
			 19992000 244,953 
			 200001 247,689 
			 200102 259,964 
			 200203 268,976 
		
	
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).
	Data on pupils in upper sixth form education are not available as we do not have data with the exact definitions for this group of young people. However, data with equivalent definitions17-year-olds participating in full-time education by institution typeis readily available and published in the Statistical First Release (SFR) publication, SFR 31/2003, entitled 'Participation in Education, Training and Employment by 16 to 18-year-olds in England:2001 and 2002'.
	The table shows the number of 17-year-olds participating in full-time education by institution type from end 1997 to end 2002.
	
		Table 1: Number of 17-year-olds in full-time education by institution type
		
			  1997 1998 1999 2000 2001(a)(6) 2001(b)(6) 2002(7) 
		
		
			 Full-time education 
			 Maintained schools 129,600 131,400 132,200 136,800 136,100 136,100 140,200 
			 Independent schools 36,600 36,200 35,300 35,500 35,400 35,400 37,000 
			 Sixth form colleges 47,400 46,600 46,400 47,400 47,800 47,800 51,900 
			 General FE, tertiary and specialist colleges 140,800 135,800 135,700 136,400 136,100 134,300 143,700 
			 Higher education institutions 3,000 3,000 3,200 3,200 3,500 3,500 3,900 
			 Total 357,300 353,000 352,900 359,300 358,900 357,000 376,800 
		
	
	(6) The break in the series is due to changes in the source of further education data. Students on solely government supported work based learning-funded courses (WBL) are no longer recorded in the further education data. Results for end 2001 have been produced using both methods and are given in the tables, the second set (b) being consistent with end 2002.
	(7) Provisional.
	Please see 'Notes for Editors' section in the SFR 31/2003 for more information.
	Projections on a consistent basis are not available. A consistent set of projections will be published in the 2004 Departmental Report.

Part-time Students

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many part-time students are in tertiary education, broken down by the age groups (a) 18 to 25, (b) 25 to 35, (c) 35 to 45, (d) 45 to 55, (e) 55 to 65 and (f) 65 plus.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 10 March 2004
	The available information is given in the table and shows part-time enrolments at English institutions.
	
		Part-time enrolments1,2 to HE and FE courses at English institutions by age
		
			 Age HE study FE study 
		
		
			 Under 18 1,585 132,616 
			 18 to 24 129,269 273,916 
			 25 to 34 228,740 396,623 
			 35 to 44 213,194 416,516 
			 45 to 54 112,599 296,169 
			 55 to 64 37,002 176,773 
			 65 years and over 19,195 127,189 
			 Unknown 10,860 16,489 
			 Total 752,444 1,836,291 
		
	
	(8) Figures are on a snapshot basis. For study in HE institutions, figures are as at 1 December and refer to the academic year 2002/03. For study in FE institutions, University for Industry and external institutions, figures are as at the 1 November and refer to academic year 2001/02.
	(9) As the figures are calculated on a snapshot basis they will therefore exclude any enrolments after these dates.
	Source:
	Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and Learning Skills Council (LSC).

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Afghanistan

Michael Ancram: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what the Government's position is regarding the appointment of a Supreme Court in Afghanistan by the President of Afghanistan;
	(2)  what steps the Government is taking to ensure a free and fair judiciary in Afghanistan;
	(3)  what the Government's position is regarding the appointment of a state commission to appoint (a) members of the judiciary and (b) the Supreme Court in Afghanistan.

Jack Straw: We are working closely with the Afghan Government and Italy (lead-nation on judicial and penal reform) on the reconstruction of the judiciary (including a new Supreme Court). We are also considering how best to support the Afghan Government as it arrests and prosecutes those involved in the production and trafficking of narcotics.
	In October 2002 President Karzai appointed a Judicial Commission of distinguished Afghan legal professionals to oversee the reform to the judiciary. The UK supports Afghanistan in developing a justice system which is speedy, fair, transparent and accessible to all. The UK has contributed 0.5 million to a UNDP programme on the reform of the judiciary and has committed 232,000 to penal reform, through Penal Reform International.
	The new Afghan Constitution establishes that the nine members of the Supreme Court should be appointed by the President, with the approval of the Wolesi Jirga (lower house of the new National Assembly). Until elections for the Wolesi Jirga take place, the current Supreme Court will continue to sit. After the elections, a new Supreme Court will be established within thirty days.

Gibraltar

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on plans for a new constitution for Gibraltar.

Denis MacShane: I refer my hon. Friend to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary in this House on 6 February 2004, Official Report, columns 5152WS.

Global Conflict Prevention Pool

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much has been gifted under the Global Conflict Prevention Pool.

Bill Rammell: The following table gives readily available details of items which have been 'gifted' under the strategies of the Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP) since it was set up. To undertake further research would involve disproportionate costs. Gifting is taken as referring to items which have been donated by HMG to another Government.
	The GCPP is intended to support the prevention, management and resolution of conflict, and post conflict reconstruction to help avoid the re-ignition of conflict at a later date. A range of activities are covered, for example: development of new governance and justice systems; disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of fighters into society and development of alternative livelihoods for them; training for police, armed forces and other parts of the security sector in democratic and accountable systems which respect human rights. Most GCPP funding is spent on consultancy and other non-capital support to these objectives. Related technical and other equipment is however sometimes supplied under Ministerially approved guidelines, where this supports an agreed conflict prevention strategy.
	
		
			 GCPP strategy Recipient Financial year Total cost Description (end use) 
		
		
			 Afghanistan Afghan Transitional Administration 200203 (63,092) and 200304 (100,000) 4.8 million total 163,092 Kabul Entry Vehicle Check-points: 
			 Buildings (nine): 50,000 
			 Equipment: 100,000 comprising hand-held metal detectors, mirrors for vehicle checks, generators, heaters, basic drug identification kits, communications, cold-weather clothing, torches, spotlights, beds, water tanks. 
			 Joint Security Co-ordination Centre Equipment: 13,000 comprising computers, software and licenses, printers, scanners, digital projector, fax machine, photocopier, communications, office furniture, stationery. 
			   200203 (850,000) and 200304 (625,000) 1,475,000 Office of the National Security Adviser: 
			 Temporary office accommodation: 900,000 
			 Office equipment: 575,000 comprising security (CCTV etc.), 
			 Communications, audiovisual, vehicles, office furniture, generators. 
			   200304 90,000 Police Crime Scene Investigation Units: 
			 Uniforms and specialist clothing: 55,000 
			 Office Equipment: 20,000 
			 Computers and software: 15,000 
			   200304 6,500 Counter Narcotics Directorate: Computers and office equipment. 
			   200304 921,500 Afghan Border Police Headquarters: Contribution to total cost of building. 
			   200203 (1,300,000) and 200304 (817,753) 2,117,753 Afghan National Army: Communications equipment and spares: 2,027,753 Vehicles (6 jeeps and 9 trucks): 90,000 
			   200304 10,000 Regional Police equipment: 
			 60 x Blankets, one x 60m carpet, 300 jackets, security equipment (torches, mirrors, hand-tools), two 4x4 pick-up trucks, vehicle spares. 
			 Balkans UNMIK September 2003 555,101 Kosovo Organised Crime Bureau: surveillance equipment for tackling organised crime. 
			  OHR January 2003 167,222 Computer equipment and software to combat organised crime in Bosnia. 
			 Belize and Guatemala Belize Defence Force 200102 169,555 Non-lethal military equipment including aircraft parts and freight costs, Land Rovers and spares, radio equipment. 
			   200203 248,996 Non-lethal military equipment including uniforms, mess kits, tents, hammocks, radio equipment. 
			   200304 116,566 Non-lethal military equipment including uniforms, trucks, outboard motors, mess kits. 
			 Central and  200102 282,500 Six hornet radars, body armour, global positioning system, mine detector sets, flares, electronic wheelbarrow, helmets. EOD equipment also supplied.. 
			 Eastern Europe   75,000 Four fork-lift trucks 
			 Former Soviet Union Government of Uzbekistan. 200102 71,169 Electronic court reporting equipment for the Uzbek courts in Tashkent. 
			  OSCE 200203 and 200304 268,444 Riot shields and riot clothing for the OSCE Special Police Adviser in Kyrgyzstan. 
			 India/PakistanNothing 'gifted'. 
			 Indonesia/E. TimorNothing 'gifted'. 
			 Middle East and North Palestinian Authority 200203 32,337 Gaza Project details: 
			 AfricaPhase I 
			 - Computer equipment: 12,125.3 
			 -Copiers and faxes: 5,223.39 
			 -Video conference kit: 5,948.72 
			 (to link N and S Gaza) 
			 -Merez Radio/phones: 3,380.57 
			 -Furniture: 5,241.24 
			  Palestinian Authority 200304 36,235 Phase II 
			 -Computer equipment: 15,824.2 
			 -Copiers and faxes: 8,312.96 
			 -Merez Radio/phones: 3,515.79 
			 -Furniture: 8,113.37 
			 Total units: 
			 Computer equipment (includes PC, Keyboard, CPU and UPS) = 35 
			 Printers = 9 
			 Copiers = 10 
			 Faxes = 9 
			 Merez Radio/phones = 51 
			 Furniture (includes desks, chairs etc) for 45 staff in North Gaza, Gaza City and Khan Yunis. 
			  Palestinian Authority 200203 and 200304 7,921 Jericho Monitoring Mission 
			 Infrastructure improvements at Jericho gaol included: 
			 Prison perimeter wallsbarbed wire for inner and outer prison walls: 2,078 
			 Halogen lighting: 367 
			 1 metal detector arch: 5,480 
			 All paid to enhance UK/US monitor safety. 
			 Nepal Government of Nepal 200203 and 200304 4.3 m total 350,000 Explosive Ordnance Detail (bomb disposal). 
			  RNA 200102, 200203 and 200304 125,600 Tactical radios, night vision telescopes and binoculars. 
			   200102 and 200203 137,600 Normal binoculars, mobile phones, laptops, compasses. 
			   200203 2,600,000 Two transport helicopters. 
			   200102, 200203 and 200304 400,000 Infrastructure work for UN Peacekeeping centre at Panchkal (Nepal). 
			   200102. 182,300 Reconditioned Land Rovers including spares. 
			 Note: Some of these items (e.g. radios) have been gifted every year the Strategy has been running. 
			 OSCENothing 'gifted'. 
			 Small Arms, Light WeaponsNothing 'gifted'. 
			 Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Army 200203 92,000 EOD equipment. 
			 Security Sector Reform Uruguay Ministry of Interior February 2004 7,239.83 High visibility jackets. 
			 United Nations Government of Uruguay 200102 27,014 3 NERA satellite telephones plus airtime. 
			  UN Department of peacekeeping operations 200203 25,000 English language training books. 
			  Uruguayan armed forces 200304 30,000 Firearms training simulator. 
			  Paraguayan Peacekeeping School To be donated on 193-04 3,793 Computer equipment to be used during a civilian/military planning exercise to develop UN peacekeeping capacity (2 PCs, 2 projectors, 4 screens). 
			 Iraq Iraqi Police, Fire and Ambulance Service 200304 1 million 3,200 hand-held and 300 vehicle radios to improve the responsiveness of the Iraq Emergency Services in MND(SE). 
			  Iraqi Civil Defence Corps 200304 159,000 To provide vehicles (13 GAZ trucks) to the 5th ICDC battalion in MND (SE) in order to improve local security and create the conditions for the transition to local, national and strategic stand off. 
			  IL-IRAQIYA (Iraqi media network) 200304 484,937 Supply of an outside broadcast/satellite news gathering vehicle.

India

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  whether he discussed inter-religious conflict on his recent trip to India; and whether he made representations to the Indian Government for an independent investigation to be carried out into the level of conflict;
	(2)  what representations he made to the Indian Government during his recent visit to India concerning the level of attacks on Christians by Hindu militants.

Mike O'Brien: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary discussed many subjects with the Indian Government during his visit to India in February although the opportunity to raise this issue did not arise on this occasion. He has however raised it on many previous occasions and will continue to do so. But the Indians can be in no doubt of our commitment to human rights, including the right to freedom of religion. Most recently, on my visit to India in January this year I was able to raise human rights concerns with the Indian authorities.

Israel

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what matters in respect of Israel's nuclear weapons of mass destruction were discussed in his meeting with Israel's Foreign Minister Shalom on 2 March.

Denis MacShane: A wide range of issues of mutual concern were discussed with Foreign Minister Shalom. Details of the discussions with members of the Israeli Government are withheld under exemption l(c) of Part 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

North Korea

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what UK involvement there has been in the negotiations with North Korea.

Bill Rammell: The UK fully supports the six-party talks process which was established to find a peaceful resolution to the issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) nuclear programmes. We have not participated directly in the talks. However, we maintain close contacts with all the participants, including DPRK. We will also continue to urge DPRK to engage constructively in the process and dismantle its nuclear programme completely, irreversibly and verifiably.

Nuclear Materials

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has received in respect of the theft of highly enriched uranium and caesium-137 radioactive isotopes from a research institute in Sukhumi, in Abkhazia in 2002.

Denis MacShane: Georgia has not reported any loss of highly enriched uranium or caesium-137 radioactive isotopes in 2002 for inclusion on the International Atomic Energy Agency's Illicit Trafficking Database.

Pakistan

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what matters in respect of Abdul Qadeer Khan's involvement in proliferating nuclear weapons were discussed during his recent visit to Pakistan.

Denis MacShane: A range of issues of mutual concern were discussed during the visit. Details of the discussions with the Pakistani Government are withheld under exemption 1(c) of Part 2 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.

Pakistan

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions his Department has had with the (a) Pakistani and (b) Indian Governments concerning the roadmap to peace between the two countries.

Mike O'Brien: We have been in regular contact with the governments of both India and Pakistan following the announcement at the start of January that the two countries will begin a dialogue. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary visited Pakistan last week, and India at the start of February. During both visits relations between India and Pakistan were discussed with President Musharraf, Deputy Prime Minister Advani and Foreign Minister Kasuri. Both governments were congratulated on recent progress in their bilateral relations following the breakthrough agreement to commence dialogue, and were encouraged to build a sustainable pattern of talks that will, in time, lead to the resolution of all their outstanding differences, including over Kashmir.

Palestinian Authority

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what assurance he has received from the Palestinian Authority that it unequivocally condemns suicide bombing;
	(2)  what representations he has made to the Palestinian Authority about the need for municipal government elections;
	(3)  what recent representations he has made about the need for reform of the Palestinian Authority.

Bill Rammell: Representatives of the Palestinian Authority at every level have made clear to us repeatedly their condemning of suicide bombings. My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary's 8 March talks with the Palestinian Prime Minister, Ahmed Qurei, focussed on his plans for further improving security as well as on the importance of continuing reform of the Palestinian Authority. Elections are part of that reform process. We have encouraged the Palestinian Authority to complete its work on the legal and administrative framework. The successful conduct of municipal elections will, however, also require a significant easing of the occupation and associated restrictions on Palestinian freedom of movement.

Zimbabwe

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the numbers of (a) children and (b) dependants of Zimbabwean (i) police, (ii) military personnel, (iii) civil servants, (iv) judges and (v) Government Ministers who are being educated in (A) schools, (B) colleges and (C) universities in the United Kingdom.

Chris Mullin: We have made no such assessment.

Zimbabwe

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with Amnesty International on prison conditions in Zimbabwe.

Chris Mullin: We are in regular contact with a number of human rights organisations operating in Zimbabwe who are monitoring the situation on the ground. Our embassy in Harare and officials in London regularly receive reports from Amnesty International about the level of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether (a) Mr. Henry Doha, (b) Lieutenant General Solomon Mujuri and (c) Mr. Joseph Mwale are on the EU list of Zimbabweans who are banned from travelling to member states of the European Union.

Chris Mullin: Retired General Solomon Mujuru is on the EU's list as he is a ZANU (PF) Politburo Senior Committee Member. Mr. Henry Doha, a Zimbabwean police officer, is not on the list although he was removed from the UN's mission to Kosovo following protests over his presence there by UN member states, including the UK. Mr. Joseph Mwale, a member of the War Veterans' Association, is not on the list: Mr. Jabulani Sibanda, the Chair of the Association, is on the list.
	The EU renewed and extended its targeted measures on Zimbabwe on 19 February 2004. An additional 16 names were added to those caught by the travel ban and assets freeze. The list targets the top members of ZANU (PF) and the Zimbabwean Government.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Action Teams for Jobs

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the (a) cost and (b) success rate of Action Teams for Jobs.

Des Browne: Action Teams are halving a positive impact on the lives of disadvantaged people in some of the most economically deprived areas of the country. Between June 2000 and the end of January 2004 Action Teams had engaged with almost 250,000 people helping nearly 100,000 of them into work. The annual budget for Action Teams for Jobs is currently 49 million.

Asbestos

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what advice he has made available to employers concerning the implementation of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002.

Des Browne: The Health and Safety Executive has published three Approved Codes of Practice to support The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002: one aimed at licensed asbestos removal contractors, one dealing with asbestos work that does not require a licence and the third specifically addressing the new duty to manage asbestos in non-domestic premises. These documents provide comprehensive advice on how to comply with the regulations.
	The Executive has also produced a number of guidance leaflets including a free leaflet produced jointly with the Federation of Small Businesses, Asbestos Testing and Consulting and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Practical manuals have also been produced to help workers, employers and managers on the ground fulfil their responsibilities under the regulations.
	In order to raise awareness of the duty to manage asbestos, the Health and Safety Executive has also developed workshop and seminar materials, which allow presentations to be delivered on the new regulations both by HSE staff and others.
	Additional useful information on complying with the regulations can be also found on HSE's web pages on asbestos on the Internet.

Asbestos

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will list the buildings occupied by his staff, including departmental agencies, which require (a) remedial work on and (b) the removal of asbestos; what that work will cost; what budgets are available for this work for (i) 2004 and (ii) 2005; and what budget is available for future asbestos surveys.

Des Browne: A list of buildings requiring remedial work on, or the removal of asbestos is not yet available as the surveys being carried out in connection with the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002 will not be completed until later this year.
	A list of buildings occupied by DWP staff and already identified as containing asbestos is available in the Library. This department, and its predecessors, has been proactive in identifying these buildings and the asbestos has been either sealed or removed as necessary.
	The costs of the surveys and any remedial works have not been estimated. However, under the terms of the PRIME (Private Resource Initiative for Management of the Estate) contract, the DWP's service partner, Land Securities Trillium, are responsible for arranging and funding these.

Asbestos

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of buildings occupied by (a) staff of the Department and (b) staff of the Department's executive agencies have been surveyed for the purpose of identifying the presence of asbestos prior to implementation of the control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002.

Des Browne: To date approximately 13 per cent. of the buildings occupied by DWP staff have been surveyed for the purpose of identifying the presence of asbestos prior to implementation of the control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002. Surveys of the remaining buildings are expected to be completed during 2004. HSE are content with the actions DWP have taken so far and the proposals for future action.

Benefit Fraud

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the recorded benefit fraud savings for (a) his Department and (b) local authorities were in each of the last six years.

Chris Pond: The available information is in the tables.
	
		Monetary Value Adjustments (MVA) by DSS/DWP
		
			  MVA () 
		
		
			 19992000 27,948,245 
			 200001 22,109,627 
			 200102 16,382,983 
			 200203 16,057,813 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest pound.
	2. The Monetary Value Adjustment (MVA) scheme was introduced from 1 April 1999. MVA is the difference between the weekly amount of benefit which would have been paid, or would have continued to be paid, and the benefit paid following the decision-maker's decision on the information gathered. Comparable figures for periods prior to 19992000 are not available.
	Source:
	Fraud Information by Sector (FIBS).
	
		Estimated benefit savings from fraud detection by local authorities
		
			  Weekly benefit savings () 
		
		
			 199798 306,400,000 
			 199899 215,900,000 
			 19992000 167,600,000 
			 200001 133,900,000 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. The Weekly Benefit Savings (WBS) scheme recorded estimated savings from fraud detection. It is not possible to measure actual savings from fraud detection because it is not possible to know how long the overpayment would have continued for had if not been detected at that point in time. Estimated savings from the WBS scheme are therefore based on the assumption that the overpayment would have continued for 32 weeks had it not been detected.
	2. Amounts have been rounded to the nearest 100,000.
	3. Local Authority WBS rules were tightened during this period, and the fall in recorded savings may not reflect a fall in actual amounts detected.
	4. For local authorities, the WBS scheme was replaced by the Security against Fraud and Error (SAFE) scheme in April 2002, with some local authorities joining in April 2001; therefore figures for WBS savings are not available for 200102 onwards. Like WBS, the SAFE scheme provides rewards for detected overpayments. However, it provides rewards for the detection of both fraud and claimant error overpayments.
	Source:
	Local Authority returns.

Company Pensions

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what safeguards are in place for those who have company pensions against loss of their pension through insolvency;
	(2)  what support is available to those who have lost their pensions when the company which employed them went bankrupt.

Malcolm Wicks: In the event of employer insolvency, assistance is available to pension scheme members under the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the Pension Schemes Act 1993. Under these Acts, insolvency payments are made from the National Insurance Fund (NIF) to qualifying former employees. Claims for unpaid employees' National Insurance contributions are limited to the actual amount deducted from wages during the twelve months prior to the date of insolvency. Unpaid employers' National Insurance contributions for the twelve-month period prior to the insolvency date are also payable, but are subject to monetary limits depending on the type of pension scheme.
	Assistance is also available under 'deemed buyback' provisions, introduced as part of the Pensions Act 1995. Under these provisions members of contracted-out occupational pension schemes can, in certain circumstances, have some, or all of their state scheme rights restored for the period that they were contracted-out.
	Other statutory measures are in place to help safeguard the pensions that people have built up. The employer debt provisions ensure that any shortfall is treated as a debt due from the employer to the trustees of the scheme. Changes to the statutory priority order on wind-up, announced on 24 February, will help ensure a fairer distribution of the pension scheme assets between non-pensioner and pensioner scheme members.
	We are also taking additional steps to protect members of defined benefit schemes. We are introducing the Pension Protection Fund, which will protect scheme members by paying compensation if their employer becomes insolvent and the pension scheme is underfunded. The Pension Protection Fund will significantly improve both protection for pension scheme members and confidence in pensions more generally. For the first time ever, individuals with defined-benefit with rights pension schemes can be assured that they will receive a meaningful level of compensation if their employer becomes insolvent and there are insufficient assets in the pension scheme to pay out the pensions promised.
	We are also introducing a new Pensions Regulator with the flexibility and powers to take a targeted and proportionate approach to protecting the funds held in pension schemes.

Company Pensions

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Huddersfield and (b) the UK lost their pensions as a result of insolvency in each year since 1997.

Malcolm Wicks: This information is not available. The currently available source of information on pension schemes is the Pension Schemes Registry, which is administered by the Occupational Pensions Regulatory Authority (Opra). Their database does not allow us to identify the location of scheme members affected nor the solvency status of the sponsoring employer.

Ethnic Minority Outreach Programme

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which private sector companies or organisations in each of the regions of England have received funding for the Ethnic Minority Outreach Programme; what auditing has been done to ensure that the organisations are able to place people in work; and which 10 organisations or companies have placed the most individuals in employment.

Des Browne: Ethnic Minority Outreach (EMO) contracts have been awarded to public, private and voluntary and community sector organisations who have demonstrated effective links with local ethnic minority communities. Contracts with private sector organisations have been awarded to: 'Talent', delivering provision in Leeds, Bradford and North London; 'Reed in Partnership' in North London; and The Training Network Group' in North and Central London.
	Jobcentre Plus collects monthly management information about a range of key performance measures, including job outcomes. However, it is important to recognize that the principal aim of the Outreach pilots is one of engagement with ethnic minority individuals and communities to encourage them to participate in the labour market. This means that a range of outcomes may be considered a success, from making contact with individuals or employers, linking individuals to the local Jobcentre and the benefits and services they provide; providing work focused training or other activity; as well as helping people into work.
	All EMO contracts are monitored by the local Jobcentre Plus District against the targets agreed when the contract was awarded.
	The EMO providers who have achieved the most job outcomes are:
	1. Business to BusinessLeicester
	2. At Work (Talent)Bradford
	3. At Work (Talent)North London
	4. Pro-DiverseNorth London
	5. Oldham CollegeOldham
	6. Kirklees Metropolitan CouncilCalderdale  Kirklees
	7. Indian Muslim Welfare SocietyCalderdale  Kirklees
	8. Halifax Opportunities TrustCalderdale  Kirklees
	9. Family Housing AssociationManchester
	10  SITU-Bolton

Minority Ethnic Outreach

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the success rate of the Minority Ethnic Outreach.

Des Browne: Ethnic Minority Outreach has been designed and implemented to test new ways of engaging with communities and individuals who have had little or no contact with Jobcentre Plus and disproportionately high levels of unemployment. It is delivered by organisations that have demonstrated their knowledge of, and ability to work effectively with, ethnic minority communities, and uses new, innovative and community-based ways to help ethnic minority people overcome the barriers they face in the labour market. To January 2004, 9,268 people had started on the Ethnic Minority Outreach programme, with 1,664 starting work. The majority of those who joined the programme but have not yet found work are still participating, with some having joined mainstream Jobcentre Plus provision.

Long-term Unemployment

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the levels of long-term (a) adult and (b) youth unemployment in Crosby over the last seven years.

Des Browne: In the UK, claimant long term unemployment has been virtually eradicated for young people and has fallen by three-quarters for adults. In my hon. Friend's constituency, Crosby, long term unemployment for adults has fallen by 70 per cent. and for young people by 95 per cent. since 1997.
	These successes exemplify the successful combination of economic stability and radical labour market reforms we have provided which, despite a period of global economic insecurity, have resulted in the UK having the best employment rate and ILO unemployment rate of the major industrialised (G7) countries.

New Deal

Martyn Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Wales have benefited from the (a) New Deal for Young People, (b) New Deal for Long Term Unemployed and (c) New Deal for Lone Parents by (i) constituency and (ii) county.

Des Browne: The available information is in the tables.
	
		Number of people in Wales who have benefited from the New Deal for Young People, New Deal 25+ and New Deal for Lone Parents by constituency to the end of December 2003
		
			  New Deal for Young People New Deal 25+ New Deal for Lone Parents 
			  Individual starts Individuals into work Individual starts Individuals into work Individual starts Individuals into work 
		
		
			 Aberavon 1,430 890 570 200 840 470 
			 Alyn and Deeside 900 590 570 210 920 490 
			 Blaenau Gwent 1,930 1,210 820 320 1,120 650 
			 Brecon and Radnorshire 820 540 560 250 630 310 
			 Bridgend 1,080 720 360 150 800 460 
			 Caernarfon 1,050 800 530 170 690 410 
			 Caerphilly 2,050 1,430 600 260 1,250 730 
			 Cardiff Central 1,410 830 990 400 670 380 
			 Cardiff North 420 270 250 110 440 260 
			 Cardiff South and Penarth 1,820 1,020 1,350 510 1,500 880 
			 Cardiff West 1,550 890 1,100 400 1,000 510 
			 Carmarthen East and Dinefwr 950 590 420 140 470 230 
			 Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire 1,350 900 610 260 630 320 
			 Ceredigion 1,040 680 660 300 440 240 
			 Clwyd South 860 540 360 140 770 460 
			 Clwyd West 820 530 300 60 900 460 
			 Conwy 1,280 860 500 180 1,050 540 
			 Cynon Valley 1,480 1,020 440 200 670 390 
			 Delyn 700 480 430 170 770 420 
			 Gower 1,030 690 680 330 580 340 
			 Islwyn 1,080 740 280 100 930 560 
			 Llanelli 1,770 1,110 680 220 680 350 
			 Meirionnydd Nant Conwy 620 450 270 90 410 210 
			 Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney 2,040 1,370 600 250 1,260 740 
			 Monmouth 760 510 500 220 320 200 
			 Montgomeryshire 440 300 220 110 360 160 
			 Neath 1,570 1,010 680 260 690 360 
			 Newport East 1,220 750 770 310 570 340 
			 Newport West 1,500 900 1,070 350 630 350 
			 Ogmore 1,180 790 380 150 760 460 
			 Pontypridd 1,280 880 460 210 800 470 
			 Preseli Pembrokeshire 1,400 940 680 250 560 260 
			 Rhondda 1,750 1,120 560 230 750 370 
			 Swansea East 1,780 1,140 970 470 1,010 620 
			 Swansea West 1,660 1,030 1,160 500 660 420 
			 Torfaen 1,420 950 440 150 790 480 
			 Vale of Clwyd 1,110 690 270 80 1,130 560 
			 Vale of Glamorgan 1,490 970 840 350 1,100 730 
			 Wrexham 970 580 500 170 760 440 
			 Ynys Mon 1,440 990 680 210 870 470 
			 Wales 51,050 32,720 24,190 9,430 31,180 17,520 
		
	
	Note:
	Figures may not sum to Wales total due to rounding and missing constituency codes.
	Source:
	New Deal Evaluation Data Base.
	
		Number of People in Wales who have benefited from the New Deal for Young People, New Deal 25+ and New Deal for Lone Parents by county to the end of December 2003
		
			  New Deal for Young People New Deal 25+ New Deal for Lone Parents 
			  Individual starts Individuals into work Individual starts Individuals into work Individual starts Individuals into work 
		
		
			 Isle of Anglesey 1,470 990 680 210 870 470 
			 Gwynedd 2,220 1,580 1,010 340 1,380 750 
			 Conwy 1,530 990 560 160 1,560 800 
			 Denbighshire 1,300 800 340 100 1,300 660 
			 Flintshire 1,650 1,070 1,000 380 1,690 910 
			 Wrexham 1,760 1,060 820 300 1,450 850 
			 Powys 1,320 860 810 370 1,010 480 
			 Ceredigion 1,080 680 670 300 440 240 
			 Pembrokeshire 2,300 1,560 1,110 440 960 490 
			 Carmarthenshire 3,230 1,980 1,290 440 1,380 680 
			 Swansea 4,510 2,860 2,810 1,290 2,250 1,370 
			 Neath Port Talbot 3,010 1,900 1,260 450 1,520 830 
			 Bridgend 2,080 1,380 650 250 1,400 840 
			 The Vale of Glamorgan 1,770 1,140 1,090 480 1,300 850 
			 Rhondda, Cynon, Taff, 4,690 3,120 1,520 670 2,340 1,290 
			 Merthyr Tydfil 1,590 1,080 470 190 1,000 590 
			 Caerphilly 3,600 2,470 1,020 410 2,440 1,450 
			 Blaenau Gwent 1,940 1,210 830 320 1,120 650 
			 Torfaen 1,520 1,010 480 160 830 500 
			 Monmouthshire 840 570 520 240 360 220 
			 Newport 2,590 1,540 1,770 630 1,130 660 
			 Cardiff 5,050 2,870 3,480 1,300 3,450 1,940 
			 Wales 51,050 32,720 24,190 9,430 31,180 17,520 
		
	
	Source:
	New Deal Evaluation Data Base.

New Deal

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many jobseekers on the New Deal scheme there have been in each year since 1998.

Des Browne: The information is in the table:
	
		New DealNumber of jobseekers on each New Deal since 1998
		
			 Year started on programme New Deal for Young People New Deal 25 plus New Deal 50 plus New Deal for Lone Parents New Deal for Disabled People New Deal for Partners 
		
		
			 1998 212,930 (10)77,750  6,620   
			 1999 192,300 141,950  69,080   
			 2000 174,970 116,330 (11)24,830 71,190   
			 2001 163,170 118,530 35,080 80,080 (12)7,090  
			 2002 165,450 113,790 31,830 109,870 28,740  
			 2003 172,870 105,580 (13)6,300 (14)97,880 33,630  
			 Total 1,081,680 673,920 98,040 434,720 69,460 (15)7,480 
		
	
	(10) Data are for July to December.
	(11) Data are for April to December and relate to starts to the ND50+ Employment Credit.
	(12) Data are from July.
	(13) Data are for January to March and relate to starts to the ND50+ Employment Credit.
	(14) Data are to September.
	(15) No annual breakdown is available for New Deal for Partners.
	Notes:
	1. All other data are for January to December each year.
	2. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	3. All figures are starts rather than individuals and include people who may have started New Deal more than once.
	Source:
	DWP Information and Analysis Directorate.

New Deal

Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many jobseekers on the New Deal programme have been placed on an environmental task force in each year since 1998;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the projects that have been undertaken by New Deal environmental task forces.

Des Browne: The information is in the table.
	
		New Deal for Young People
		
			  Number of participants on the Environmental Task Force 
		
		
			 1998 8,050 
			 1999 23,870 
			 2000 21,870 
			 2001 17,570 
			 2002 17,630 
			 2003 15,000 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
	2. Includes people who may have started on the programme more than once.
	Source:
	Department for Work and Pensions New Deal database.
	The Environmental Task Force (ETF) Option for New Deal for Young People (NDYP) aims to enhance the long term employment prospects of young unemployed people through high quality work placements and job search help.
	A wide range of projects are delivered through the programme, which aim to deliver environmental benefits to local communities in line with the Government's sustainable development priorities. These include among other things: improving the local landscape and conserving its wildlife; improving the energy efficiency of buildings; and bringing derelict land and buildings back into use.

New Deal

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what the Government's definition is of sustained employment;
	(2)  how many New Deal participants have found sustained unsubsidised employment.

Des Browne: Sustained employment is defined as moving into work and not reclaiming benefit for 13 weeks. We only record sustained jobs for NDYP and ND25 plus. The information requested is in the table.
	
		
			  Number of New Deal Participants that have found Sustained Unsubsidised Employment (to December 2003) 
		
		
			 New Deal for Young People 353,040 
			 New Deal 25 plus 112,250 
			 Total 465,290 
		
	
	Source:
	New Deal Evaluation Database, Information and Analysis Directorate, DWP.

New Deal

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the objectives are of (a) the New Deal and (b) each New Deal programme.

Des Browne: The objectives of all the New Deal programmes are the same: to improve individuals' employment prospects and reduce the incidence of long-term sustained unemployment. New Deal also aims to work closely with employers to ensure that they are engaged in the design and delivery of local programmes. More than a million people have been helped into work by the New Deal, with the job prospects of thousands more improved by being given the skills, experience and confidence needed to succeed in the labour market.
	New Deal for Lone Parents and New Deal for Partners also feed into our targets of reducing child poverty and the number of workless households.

New Deal

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many New Deal participants have received a nationally-recognised qualification; and what percentage that represents of total participants.

Des Browne: Information on qualifications held and subsequently achieved through New Deal is recorded and monitored by New Deal personal advisers on an individual basis at local level. However, information at  national level could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

New Deal

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many New Deal participants have ceased to claim Jobseeker's Allowance.

Des Browne: The following table gives the number of people who left New Deal for Young People and New Deal 25 plus whose immediate destination was not to claim JSA.
	
		
			  Number of New Deal participants who have ceased to claim Jobseekers Allowance 
		
		
			 New Deal for Young People(16) 878,840 
			 New Deal 25 plus(17) 335,540 
			 Total 1,214,380 
		
	
	(16) January 1998 to December 2003.
	(17) April 1998 to December 2003.
	Source:
	New Deal Evaluation Database, Information and Analysis Directorate, DWP.

New Deal

George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what percentage of New Deal leavers have had their destination recorded as unknown in each year since the inception of the New Deal, broken down by New Deal programme.

Des Browne: The available information is in the table.
	
		
			  1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 
		
		
			 Numbers of New Deal leavers whose destination has been recorded as unknown 
			 New Deal for Young People 19,540 54,410 54,080 51,080 53,120 61,720 
			 New Deal 25 plus 2,460 12,870 12,110 13,200 19,270 23,390 
			 New Deal for Lone Parents 360 7,380 9,790 21,190 9,480 15,150 
			
			 Percentage of New Deal leavers whose destination has been recorded as unknown 
			 New Deal for Young People 25 28 27 29 32 34 
			 New Deal 25 plus 18 10 9 11 18 20 
			 New Deal for Lone Parents 24 12 11 (18)20 9 13 
		
	
	(18) Proportion leaving to an unknown destination for NDLP is higher in 2001 following an exercise which identified people who had been recorded as participating on NDLP but had no contact for at least six months.
	Source:
	New Deal Evaluation Database, Information and Analysis Directorate, DWP.

Pension Credit

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to simplify the procedure for applying for Pension Credit, with particular reference to pensioners with savings.

Malcolm Wicks: The application process for Pension Credit has been designed to be straightforward for pensioners and their family and friends, who may apply on their behalf. The Pension Credit application line (freephone 0800 99 1234), which is the main method of applying, is working well and has taken over 2.3 million calls (to the end of January) since it became operational on 7 April 2003. The Pension Service is able to offer alternative ways of applying to suit individual circumstances. Recent independent research, a summary of which is available in the Library, found high levels of customer satisfaction with the application line and with the application process overall. We continue to review and improve the application process in the light of experience, including improvements to make it easier for people with savings to provide the required information and documentary evidence.

Pension Credit

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the percentage increase is in the number of pension credit households from the introduction of pension credit to the most recent available date in each parliamentary constituency.

Malcolm Wicks: A table showing the percentage increase in the number of pension credit households between 17 October 2003 and 31 January 2004, for each parliamentary constituency in Great Britain, has been placed in the Library.

Winter Fuel Payments

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people he estimates have to make a claim for the 200304 Winter Fuel Payment before 30 March cut-off date; and how many of them have yet to do so.

Malcolm Wicks: It is not possible to provide an accurate estimate of the number of individuals eligible for a Winter Fuel Payment who have yet to submit a claim. We estimate that approximately 600,000 eligible individuals in the United Kingdom reached age 60 in the qualifying period for the 200304 Winter Fuel Payment. About half of these have been paid automatically. Those not paid automatically have to claim.
	So far 261,007 Winter Fuel Payment claim forms have been submitted in Great Britain.

Winter Fuel Payments

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people have received winter fuel payments in Bolton, North East in each year since the introduction of the payment.

Malcolm Wicks: Details of the number of people in Bolton North East who received winter fuel payments from 19992000 are set out below. Figures for the previous years are not available.
	
		
			  Number of people receiving winter fuel payments 
		
		
			 19992000 15,520 
			 200001 17,150 
			 200102 17,260 
			 200203 17,410 
		
	
	Notes:
	Figures are rounded to the nearest 5.
	Figures taken from the Matching Intelligence Data Analysis Service Winter Fuel Payments 19992000, 200001, 200102 and 200203 exercises.
	Source:
	IAD Information Centre, 100 per cent. sample.
	We would expect the figures for 200304 to be similar to 200203.

Winter Fuel Payments

John Thurso: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claim forms for winter fuel payment have been submitted to date, broken down by region.

Malcolm Wicks: To date 261,007 winter fuel payment claim forms have been submitted. Numbers broken down by region are not available.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Correspondence

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter of the hon. Member for Wrexham dated 1 December 2003 on the subject of Mr. Ertan Souyaz, Home Office Reference S900223; Port Reference WIT18155.

Beverley Hughes: I am informed that the Immigration and Nationality Directorate wrote to my hon. Friend on 2 March.

Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will reply to the letter to him from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton dated 5 February with regard to certain allegations.

David Blunkett: I wrote to my right hon. Friend on 11 March.

Driving Offences

Bob Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) minimum and (b) maximum penalties are for the offences of (i) driving with no insurance, (ii) driving with no licence and (iii) driving without a valid MOT vehicle test certificate; and what plans he has to change the penalties for each of these offences.

Paul Goggins: The offences of driving while disqualified, driving without valid insurance and driving without a valid MOT are subject to statutory maximum sentences:
	Driving while disqualified carries a maximum sentence of 5,000 and/or six months imprisonment and a maximum of six penalty points.
	Driving without insurance carries a maximum sentence of 5,000 fine, unlimited disqualification or six to eight penalty points. However this offence may also be dealt with by means of a 200 fixed penalty notice and six penalty points.
	Driving without a valid MOT (excise licence) carries a maximum sentence of 1,000 fine or five times the value of the licence (whichever is greater).
	There are no minimum penalties for these offences except that the two endorsable offences carry a minimum of six penalty points other than in exceptional circumstances.
	There are currently no plans to change the penalties for these offences, however the Sentencing Guidelines Council will consider them in due course.

Internet Hackers

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he plans to increase the number of arrests of hackers who send viruses via spam advertising.

Caroline Flint: The investigation and arrest of individuals who disseminate viruses is a matter for law enforcement. Where individuals are discovered to have disseminated viruses which cause the unauthorised modification of data they can be prosecuted under Section 3 of the Computer Misuse Act.
	We have set up the National Hi Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) as part of the National Crime Squad to combat national and transnational hi-tech crime within or which impacts upon the UK. This includes the investigation of hacking and virus writing. The Unit, together with the specialist units within local forces which also deal with such investigations, have established good international links with overseas industry and law enforcement, necessary to follow the evidence trail to discover and prosecute the perpetrators of such offences.
	There have been a number of successful prosecutions against virus writers and disseminators.
	In December 2003, the UK introduced new controls on unsolicited direct marketing e-mails, under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. Direct marketing e-mails may not now be sent to individual subscribers without their prior consent. The new opt-in rules do not apply to direct marketing e-mails sent to corporate subscribers (e.g. limited companies and other organisations). However, all direct marketing e-mails, regardless of who they are sent to, are required by the regulations to contain proper sender and contact details for opt out purposes.

Mr. Steve Moxon (Inquiry)

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  when he expects to publish the results of the inquiry being held into the allegations made by Mr. Steve Moxon;
	(2)  whether the inquiry into the allegations made by Mr. Steve Moxon will cover (a) the operation of the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, (b) the operation of the Minister of State for Immigration's private office and (c) the operation of his Department's press office.

Beverley Hughes: I refer the hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement which I made today.

Offender Management

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the private sector will be allowed to bid for work with sex offenders under the National Offender Management Service structure.

Paul Goggins: The Government want the most effective custodial and community sentences possible for all offenders, including sex offenders, no matter who delivers them. It is keen to encourage partnerships between public and private sector providers and the voluntary and community sectors. The team tasked with implementing the National Offender Management Service will consider the specific details of the application of contestability with regard to sex offenders as part of its wider remit.

Offender Management

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether there has been an assessment of whether the probation areas will be able to deal with the reorganisation needed to establish the National Offender Management Service.

Paul Goggins: The National Offender Management Service implementation team intend to run regional pathfinders in order to test the proposed changes in preparation for a national roll-out.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

International Women's Day

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for Women what activities she has planned in recognition of International Women's Day.

Patricia Hewitt: holding answer 10 March 2004
	To mark International Women's Day, I took part in the annual International Women's Day debate Women, Equality and Human Rights in the House of Commons on 4 March 2004. I attended and made the keynote speech at the LeicestHERday Annual Conference Women, Moving Forward (3 to 5 March 2004) which included discussion groups, seminars and workshops for women in business and the community. I also spoke at the International Women's Day reception at the Trade Union Council on 8 March 2004 and lent my support to the Funny Women comedy event held at Caf de Paris on 8 March 2004.
	In addition, the House of Lords marked International Women's Day on 9 March 2004 debating the question from Baroness Gould of Potternewton What progress has been made on the status of women in the UK?.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Housing

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make a statement on how (a) the Starter Homes Initiative and (b) the Abandoned Homes Initiative have affected the residents of Crosby.

Keith Hill: Since September 2001, the Starter Home Initiative (SHI) has been helping key workers into home ownership in areas where the high cost of housing serves to undermine recruitment and retention of skilled staff in our key public services. The SHI has been available in London and the South East region and in some housing hotspots in the East, South West and West Midlands regions. It has not been available to key workers in the North West region.
	The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not aware of an Abandoned Homes Initiative. However, our Market Renewal Pathfinders are a comprehensive programme to tackle low demand and abandonment in nine English areas, including Merseyside. The boundaries of the Merseyside scheme, which covers the southern part of the Sefton council district, but not Crosby, were drawn up following an analysis of local housing markets to identify those areas most acutely affected by low demand and abandonment. The integrated approach to spatial and economic issues being adopted by the pathfinders should bring substantial benefits to the wider sub-region.

Ministerial Travel

Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he last used a train in connection with his ministerial duties.

Yvette Cooper: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister travels by train regularly on official business. He last travelled by train on official business from Letchworth to London on Tuesday 9 March 2004.
	All travel by my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.

Parliamentary Questions

Andrew Turner: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to his answer of 8 March 2004, Official Report, column 1231W, on the South East England Development Authority, why the answer was delivered to the hon. Member without the table to which it refers; when the table was placed in the Library; and what arrangements he makes to ensure answers are delivered to the Official Report on the day they are given.

Yvette Cooper: The answer to which the hon. Member refers was answered on the 23 February 2004. It only appeared on the 8 March 2004 due to circumstances at the Official Report but did not include the table. The Answer and associated table will be printed in full in the bound copy of the Official Report for the 23 February 2004. The table referred to was not intended for the Library of the House as it was due to appear in the Official Report. All answers are issued to the Official Report when they are made available to hon. Members.

Publicity Costs

Damian Green: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much the Government Office for the South East spent on producing and distributing the leaflet What the Pre-Budget Report means for the South East.

Nick Raynsford: The cost of producing the leaflet What the Pre-Budget Report means for the South East was 175.00 to the Government Office for the South East. Distribution costs were 111.00.

Regional Government

Ann Winterton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how much the Government's Financial Guarantee would amount to in each year from 2007 to 2013 for the (a) North West, (b) North East and (c) Yorkshire and the Humber Region; and where the funding would come from.

Nick Raynsford: If the UK proposals for an EU Framework for Devolved Regional Policy were agreed, the Government have committed that it would guarantee that by increasing UK Government spending on regional policy, UK nations and regions receive a level of resources which ensure they do not lose out from the UK's proposals on Structural Funds reform.
	It is not possible to say now exactly what the domestic institutional arrangements will be in 2007, and therefore exactly how increased domestic funding would be distributed. However the principles of distribution are detailed in a written statement by my right hon. Friend the Member for Leicester, West (Ms Hewitt) on 11 December 2003, Official Report, columns 9598WS. Equally it is not possible to put a figure on the Guarantee at this stage, without the GDP data that would be used in 2006.

Regional Government

Ann Winterton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether the proposed regional assemblies grant in respect of fire and rescue responsibilities will match the total grant of the existing fire and rescue services in the individual regions.

Nick Raynsford: No region's fire and rescue service will be financially disadvantaged because it reports to an elected regional assembly.
	The Fire White Paper, Our Fire and Rescue Service announced that Regional Fire and Rescue Authorities,
	where there are elected regional assemblies, fire and rescue authorities will be regional bodies constituted on similar lines to the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority (paragraph 4.15).
	The Regions White Paper, Your Region, Your Choice Revitalising the English Regions, announced,
	fairness and consistency of treatment between the English regions can be most simply demonstrated if the level of resources for the region(s) with an elected assembly is determined on broadly the same basis as for other English regions (paragraph 5.4).

Regional Government

Ann Winterton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will list the national public bodies with regional or local offices in the (a) North West Region and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber Region.

Nick Raynsford: The Cabinet Office publication, Public Bodies 2003, lists all the national public bodies in the United Kingdom. However, it does not break down the public bodies by region. Copies have been made available in the Library of the House.

Regional Government

Ann Winterton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what aspects of EU Regional Policy will be devolved to the English regions.

Nick Raynsford: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister has overall responsibility for the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), one of the key Structural Fundswhich deliver EU regional policy. Under the current round of programmes (until the end of 2006), the responsibility for the day-to-day management of the Structural Funds is delegated to the Government Offices in the regions.
	The Government's 2002 White Paper Your Region, Your Choice: Revitalising the English Regions (Cm.5511) set out our proposal that where elected regional assemblies are established they would take over the role currently performed by Government Offices for any Structural Fund expenditure for future programming periods.
	It is not possible at this stage to say which regions will have elected assemblies in 2007, nor what the outcome of Structural Fund reform will be. But as the White Paper made clear, the general approach for Englandregional delivery within a clear national frameworkwill continue. This means that the management of replacement programmes, whether they involve European or domestic funds, will be devolved to regional or local level.

Speeches

Keith Vaz: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many speeches he made between 9 June 2003 and 1 February 2004; and where a copy of each speech can be obtained.

Yvette Cooper: My right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister and other members of the Government make a number of speeches on a wide range of domestic and international issues. Copies of my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister's speeches are available on the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's website at www.odpm.gov.uk.

Telecommunications Masts

Bill O'Brien: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister who is responsible for considering disputes on the location and application of telecommunications masts; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: Parliament has entrusted local planning authorities with the responsibility for day-to-day planning control in their areas.

Telecommunications Masts

Bill O'Brien: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what circumstances must apply for mast sharing to fulfil the conditions of the code operations licences in the application of a telecommunications development; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: The Electronic Communications Code requires code operators to explore the possibility of sharing an existing radio site. The evidence that they have done so should accompany any application made to the local planning authority whether for prior approval or for planning permission.

Telecommunications Masts

Bill O'Brien: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister at what distance from the ground under the permitted development an antenna is permitted to operate under telecommunication planning policy; and if he will make a statement.

Keith Hill: The permitted development right for licensed electronic communications code system operators are set out in the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order 1995 (GPDO).

Waste and Emissions Trading Act

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of the additional costs to local authorities of the Waste and Emissions Trading Act 2003.

Elliot Morley: I have been asked to reply.
	A range of costs associated with meeting the targets in the Landfill Directive are set out in Waste Strategy 2000. The additional costs to local authorities arising from the Waste and Emissions Trading Act 2003 are covered in a partial Regulatory Impact Assessment that was circulated as part of the consultation package. These costs were shown to be marginal and to relate mainly to additional administrative costs linked to taking part in a trading scheme.

Westminster Hall

Bob Spink: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to have senior Ministers reply to debates in Westminster Hall.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Leader of the House of Commons, the right hon. Member for Neath (Mr. Hain) on 8 March 2004, Official Report, column 1234W.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

School Terms

Jim Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment has been made of the impact on the tourism industry of schools moving to a six term school year with shorter summer holidays.

Richard Caborn: The decisions of Local Education Authorities on reform of the school year are primarily based on educational priorities. Research commissioned by the English Tourism Council in 2001 suggested that the total amount of UK trips in the family tourism market would be unlikely to change significantly as a result of a six-year term, but that the tourism season would be more constant over an extended period. Spreading the benefit of domestic tourism more evenly through the year in this way would encourage the development of more sustainable tourism.

National Lottery

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many Lottery distributors there are; and how much money was distributed by each in each of the last three years.

Estelle Morris: There are currently fifteen organisations that distribute the proceeds from the National Lottery. The Millennium Commission has received no funds from the Lottery since August 2001, and it is planned that the New Opportunities Fund and the Community Fund will be merged to form a single new distributor. This merger will happen when primary legislation is in place.
	The table shows how much money each distributor has drawn down from the funds raised. The column 200304 represents the financial year to the end of February.
	
		
		
			  200102 200203 200304 (YTD) 
		
		
			 Arts Council of England 218,286,836.77 178,533,056.37 167,558,445.09 
			 UK Film Council 10,393,199 24,497,524.59 50,281,632.18 
			 Arts Council Northern Ireland 6,025,667.65 7,173,681.91 6,005,049.64 
			 Scottish Arts Council 25,258,824.55 15,822,048.65 22,979,072.19 
			 Arts Council of Wales 10,719,175.80 15,549,008.06 17,000,544.84 
			 Community Fund 384,471,181.88 352,214,195.26 287,059,299.59 
			 Heritage Lottery Fund 262,040,448.00 264,828,307.00 292.997.004.00 
			 Millennium Commission 203,859,000.00 190,477,000.00 60,249,000.00 
			 New Opportunities Fund 225,250,000.00 367,000,000.00 534,000,000.00 
			 Sport England 297,500,000 307,958,000.00 210,200,000.00 
			 Sports Council for Northern Ireland 5,213,388.14 5.665.747.31 3,547,099.06 
			 Scottish Sports Council 23,166,398.11 17,395,791.75 26,875,130.61 
			 UK Sport 23,036,116.00 25,842.042.00 19,023,954.00 
			 Sports Council for Wales 10,318,000 20,632,199.93 19,661,073.85 
			 Scottish Screen 4,021,223.10 4,210,613.59 2,641,867.47

National Lottery

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the total of unclaimed National Lottery prizes was in each of the last five years.

Estelle Morris: The information for the last five full financial years is shown in the table.
	
		
			 Financial year Unclaimed prizes (000) 
		
		
			 200203 84,923 
			 200102 80,805 
			 200001 75,651 
			 19992000 70,792 
			 199899 78,289

Olympic Games

Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps she is taking to ensure that venues outside London are involved in the 2012 Olympic bid.

Tessa Jowell: The bidding company, London 2012, announced the venues for the bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games on 16 January. The rowing, sailing and shooting events will be staged at venues outside central London and the Olympic football competition will be held in stadia in Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle. Should the bid succeed, sporting facilities across the UK will have the opportunity to be used by national teams for training camps.

Rowing

Nick Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what meetings (a) she, (b) her Ministers and (c) officials have held with representatives of the Amateur Rowing Association since August 2003 to discuss the World Rowing Championships 2006; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: I met Di Ellis, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Amateur Rowing Association (ARA), Michael Baldwin Chairman of the Organising Committee of the World Cup Regatta 2005 and the World Rowing Championships 2006, and John Scott of UK Sport on 1 December 2003 to discuss the facilities at Dorney Lake which will host both Championships.
	The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will shortly be convening a meeting of the ARA, the Championships Organising Committee, Sport England and UK Sport to further discuss the best way forward to ensure that the Dorney Lake course is brought to the required standard for World and Olympic rowing events.

Rowing

Nick Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether Dorney Lake will be the venue for (a) the World Cup Regatta 2005 and (b) the World Rowing Championships in May 2006.

Richard Caborn: The Dorney Lake rowing course has been selected to be the venue for both the World Cup Regatta 2005 and the World Rowing Championships 2006.

Rowing

Nick Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in what year the UK was last awarded the World Rowing Championships; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The World Rowing Championships were last held in the UK in 1986 when Nottingham was the host city.
	The Government are pleased that the UK has been awarded the 2006 Championships and hopes that all interested parties will continue to work together in preparation for this event to ensure that it is an unqualified success.

Rowing

Nick Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many members of the International Olympic Committee (a) are also members of Fdration Internationale des Socits d'Aviron and (b) are expected to attend the 2005 World Cup Regatta.

Richard Caborn: There are four members of the International Olympic Committee who are also members of the Fdration Internationale des Socits d'Aviron (FISA).
	Invitations to the regatta are a matter for the Amateur Rowing Association and FISA.

Rowing

Nick Hawkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what further funding is required to complete the Dorney Lake rowing course to the standard required for World and Olympic events; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Caborn: The Amateur Rowing Association (ARA) has made a detailed analysis of the costs needed to complete the Dorney Lake rowing course to the standard required for World and Olympic Events. In addition to the funding already in place, the ARA have estimated that a further 1,112,000 would be needed.
	The Department will continue to work closely with the ARA and other interested parties to consider what further steps should be taken to help bring the Dorney Lake facilities to the required standard.

HEALTH

Asbestos

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the buildings occupied by his departmental and agency staff which require (a) remedial work on and (b) removal of asbestos; what this work will cost; what budgets are available for this work for (i) 2004 and (ii) 2005; and what budget is available for future asbestos surveys.

John Hutton: The presence of asbestos is recorded in the following buildings occupied by the Department of Health, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies, where the Department has responsibility for the building or building fabric. Plans have been established for both removal and remedial works. The estimated costs of such works are shown in the table.
	
		
			 Building Estimated cost () 
		
		
			 Wellington House, London SE1 8UG 16,500 
			 Eileen House, London SE1 6EF 9,500 
			 Market Towers, London SW8 5NQ 650,000 
		
	
	Costs of removal are provided by the overall maintenance budgets for the Department of Health Estate for 200304 and 200405.

Asbestos

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the (a) hospitals and (b) other NHS properties which have been identified as containing asbestos; what proportion of (i) hospitals and (ii) other NHS properties have been surveyed for the purpose of identifying the presence of asbestos; which (A) hospitals and (B) other NHS properties require (1) remedial work on (2) removal of asbestos; what that work will cost; what budgets are available for this work for 2004 and 2005; and what budget is available for future asbestos surveys.

John Hutton: Data are not currently collected on the number of hospitals and national health service properties that contain asbestos. Trusts should pay for all works out of their own maintenance budgets. A consultative document, published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in November 2001, suggested that costs relating to the control of asbestos are not major. More recently, the HSE has advised that, where possible, asbestos should be made safe rather than removed from buildings.
	Trusts have a duty of care to manage asbestos under The Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2003 and they must record the location and condition of asbestos.

Asbestos

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of buildings occupied by (a) departmental staff and (b) staff of the Department's executive agencies have been surveyed for the purpose of identifying the presence of asbestos prior to the implementation of the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 2002.

John Hutton: The Department has had recent surveys undertaken in all its buildings, with the exception of one building where formal discussions with the landlord have proven that asbestos is not present.

Chickenpox

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of MMR-V as a childhood inoculation; and what plans he has to introduce it into the NHS.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 11 March 2004
	MMR-V vaccine does not have a licence from the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) or the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA). Therefore there has not been assessment of the vaccine and there are no plans to introduce it into the national health service.

Chickenpox

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will make a statement on chickenpox as a childhood disease;
	(2)  what plans he has to make chickenpox a notifiable disease.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 11 March 2004
	Chickenpox is a highly contagious disease caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV) that most people experience in childhood. Although the chickenpox rash can be uncomfortable, for most children the infection is usually mild.
	However, chickenpox disease can be serious in immuno-compromised children where it can cause serious illness and even be fatal.
	The risk of chickenpox infection is also serious for pregnant women. If a women contracts chickenpox in the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, the foetus may develop abnormalities. A woman developing chickenpox one-week before or after giving birth can pass the disease to her newborn child. Chickenpox is particularly serious in newborn children, and can lead to death.
	There are currently no plans to make chickenpox (varicella zoster) a notifiable disease in England and Wales. There are other sources of information currently available on the incidence of chickenpox and deaths. Information on general practitioner consultations due to chicken pox is collected through the Royal College of General Practitioners weekly returns system.

GM Crops

Joan Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research (a) he and (b) the Food Safety Agency has commissioned on possible effects on human health of (i) living close to GM crops and (ii) eating GM food.

Melanie Johnson: Before a genetically modified (GM) crop is approved for growing or for food consumption in the European Union it is required to undergo a rigorous safety assessment. This takes into account both the potential impact on human health in growing the crop and an assessment of the safety of the crop for human consumption. The Food Standards Agency funds a large body of research to support the safety assessment of GM foods, and has not commissioned specific research in the areas mentioned.

Gyms (Access)

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what action his Department is taking to ensure employees have access to gym equipment in or close to the workplace.

Melanie Johnson: The cross-Government activity co-ordination team, which I chair jointly with my right hon. Friend the Minister for Sport and Tourism, is looking at a range of options for encouraging active lifestyles in various settings, including the workplace. We will put forward proposals shortly. This work will feed into the wider Government consultation on improving people's health, entitled Choosing Health? One of the areas where we are asking for views is the appropriate balance between individuals' responsibilities for their own health and the responsibility of othersincluding employersto provide opportunities to sustain a healthy lifestyle, such as access to gyms.

Health Care Workers (Communicable Diseases)

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the response to his Department's consultation paper Health Clearance for Serious Communicable Diseases: New Health Care Workers will be published; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: The Department received a large number of responses to the consultation on Health Clearance for Serious Communicable Diseases: New Health Care Workers. The comments are being considered for incorporation into the final guidance, which will be made available to the national health service later this year.

Health Protection Agency

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many serious outbreaks of infection have been reported to the Health Protection Agency since this new collection of information was announced in December 2003.

Melanie Johnson: This data is not available yet.

Health Statistics

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his Answer of 4 February, Official Report, columns 96465W, on health statistics, and the evidence to the Health Committee on 22 January, if he will break down the information by age.

Stephen Ladyman: Quarterly monitoring information for emergency re-admissions to hospital is collected only on an all ages basis. Hospital episode statistics data can be analysed to produce annual information on emergency re-admissions by age group, but this is not routinely done. I would be willing to request such an analysis for the hon. Member if he would find it helpful and would specify in which age groups he is interested.
	Figures for delayed transfers of care for all ages, and over 75s, have been supplied for every quarter and have been placed in the Library, including the latest figures for 200304, Quarter 3 (December 2003).

Health Statistics

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 5 February 2004, Official Report, column 1068W, on health statistics, and with reference to the evidence of the Under-Secretary of State for Health (Dr. Ladyman), to the Health Committee on 22 January, on what basis it was concluded that publishing hospital emergency re-admission statistics for over 75-year-olds by his Department was ageist.

Stephen Ladyman: A target and performance monitoring process for emergency readmissions of those aged over 75 could lead to a perverse incentivethe target to reduce emergency readmissions could lead to older people being denied hospital treatment when it is appropriate for them.

Healthcare Associated Infections (Deaths)

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how the national audit of deaths caused by healthcare associated infections announced by the Chief Medical Officer will operate in practice;
	(2)  if he will list the NHS organisations which did not have either a director of infection control or a head of their infection control team in place before the announcement by the Chief Medical Officer in December 2003 that all NHS trusts will in future have a director of infection control;
	(3)  how his Department will monitor the standards of infection control outlined by the Chief Medical Officer in December 2003;
	(4)  with reference to the Chief Medical Officer's infection control report in December 2003, what timetable is in place to reach appropriate provision of isolation facilities; and what definition he uses of overtime.

Melanie Johnson: It is too early to comment on the national audit of deaths as we have only recently commissioned the Health Protection Agency to develop a proposal for this audit.
	No National Health Service organisation had a director of infection prevention and control (DIPC) in place last year as this new responsibility and its associated duties were only announced in December. Information on the heads of infection control teams is not collected centrally but the DIPC's remit extends beyond the infection control team.
	Strategic health authorities will monitor performance against the objectives of Winning Ways. In addition, the Commission for Health Improvement has announced the new performance indicators for 200304 and one of them is Winning Waysprocesses and procedures. This will monitor the actions identified in Winning Ways that trusts must undertake in order to reduce healthcare associated infection.
	As the creation of new isolation facilities is generally linked to local plans for rebuilding and refurbishment it is not feasible to set a national timetable. Over-time is not specifically defined but provides flexibility for chief executives to implement realistic, timed work programmes for isolation facilities.

Heart Disease

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his Answer of 15 December 2003, Official Report, column 768W, on heart disease, what data his Department has collated in respect of meeting the milestones for (a) primary care management of heart failure and (b) hospitals admitting patients for the management of heart failure.

Melanie Johnson: There has been good progress in reducing admissions for heart failure. This is set out in the table.
	Data on the primary care milestones is not collected centrally. The responsibility for both the delivery and monitoring of these milestones has been devolved to local health services.
	
		Count of In year Finished Admissions for primary diagnosis Heart Failure in NHS hospitals in England 200001 to 200203
		
			 Year Total admissions 
		
		
			 200001 72,389 
			 200102 68,502 
			 200203 67,765 
		
	
	Notes:
	1. Grossingfigures have not (yet) been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
	2. A finished in-year admission is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider, excluding admissions beginning before 1 April at the start of the data year. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.

Hospital Staff (North-East)

John Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) doctors, (b) nurses and (c) nursing staff who work in the (i) Sunderland Royal Hospital, (ii) Durham University Hospital and (iii) Hartlepool University Hospital come from (A) the Commonwealth, (B) European accession states and (C) South East Asia; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: This information is not collected centrally. The country of origin for staff is not gathered centrally. However, information is available for medical and dental staff based on country of qualification and is shown in the table.
	
		Trust Hospital, Public Health Medicine and Community Health Services (HCHS): medical and dental staff by Country of qualification within specified trusts -- England at 30September 2002Numbers (headcount)
		
			  RLN Sunderland City Hospitals NHS Trust RR9 North Durham Health Care NHS Trust RVW North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Trust 
		
		
			 All Countries of Qualification 380 233 317 
			 of which
			 United Kingdom 230 169 156 
			 Rest of European Economic Area 21 8 18 
			 Elsewhere 111 56 142 
			 Unknown 18 0 1 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health medical and dental workforce census.

Hospital-acquired Infection/Control

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the incidence of MRSA infections was in (a) NHS hospitals, (b) non-NHS hospitals and (c) nursing and residential homes was in each year for which records are available.

Melanie Johnson: Information on where methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are acquired is not available.
	The national mandatory surveillance system for MRSA blood stream infections (bacteraemias), started in April 2001. All acute hospital national health service trusts in England now collect this information and results for the first two years are shown in the table.
	
		Mandatory surveillancereported MRSA bacteraemias
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 200102 7,226 
			 200203 7,330

Hospital-acquired Infection/Control

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS trusts have not signed the controls assurance standards on infection control to indicate that they have done their reasonable best to comply with the standards.

Melanie Johnson: For reporting year 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003, all national health service trusts assessed themselves against the controls assurance standard on infection control and reported their assurance scores based on this assessment to the Department.

Hospital-acquired Infection/Control

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what monitoring his Department undertakes of NHS trusts' compliance with the controls assurance standards on infection control; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: Under Shifting the Balance of Power, strategic health authorities assumed responsibility for monitoring national health service trusts' compliance with the controls assurance standard on infection control.

Mercury Healthcare

David Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 2 March 2004, Official Report, column 861W, on Mercury Healthcare, on what date negotiations were entered into regarding the provision of an independent sector treatment centre with Capio UK.

John Hutton: Capio UK qualified as a short-listed bidder for the independent sector treatment centre spine chain in June 2003 and awarded reserve bidder status for the chain in September 2003. The announcement of their appointment as preferred bidder was made on Tuesday 17 February 2004.

MRSA

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many MRSA reports have been (a) voluntarily and (b) mandatorily received in (i) England and (ii) each NHS region since 1996 (A) in total and (B) as a proportion of the population.

Melanie Johnson: The tables show the number of reported bacteraemia (blood stream) infections and rates per 100,000 head of the population for each region. Although data for the voluntary reporting system are available from 1996 they are known to be incomplete. Mandatory reporting was introduced in April 2001 and data for the first two years are provided.
	
		Number of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia laboratory reports and rate per 100,000 populationvoluntary laboratory surveillance: 19962002
		
			  1996 1997 1998 1999 
			 Region No. MRSA Rate No. MRSA Rate No. MRSA Rate No. MRSA Rate 
		
		
			 North East 10 0.39 46 1.78 138 5.35 143 5.55 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 50 0.73 130 1.89 197 2.86 181 2.63 
			 East Midlands 40 0.79 130 2.57 143 2.83 215 4.25 
			 Eastern 159 3.78 271 6.44 364 8.65 442 10.50 
			 London 327 6.13 447 8.38 422 7.91 458 8.58 
			 South East 228 4.18 321 5.88 375 6.87 404 7.40 
			 South West 87 1.18 191 2.59 191 2.59 305 4.14 
			 West Midlands 267 3.29 336 4.14 396 4.88 498 6.14 
			 North West 105 2.11 173 3.48 295 5.93 367 7.38 
			 England 1,273 2.55 2,045 4.09 2,521 5.04 3,013 6.03 
		
	
	
		
			  2000 2001 2002 
			 Region No. MRSA Rate No. MRSA Rate No. MRSA Rate 
		
		
			 North East 185 7.18 179 6.95 236 9.390 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 314 4.55 378 5.48 496 9.955 
			 East Midlands 331 6.54 404 7.99 441 10.461 
			 Eastern 477 11.34 604 14.35 620 11.438 
			 London 549 10.29 525 9.84 691 9.395 
			 South East 564 10.33 724 13.26 745 9.269 
			 South West 373 5.06 479 6.49 541 10.908 
			 West Midlands 771 9.50 817 10.07 768 14.479 
			 North West 365 7.34 453 9.11 477 7.068 
			 England 3,929 7.86 4,563 9.13 5,015 10.12383 
		
	
	
		Number of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) laboratory reportsand rate per 100,000 populationmandatory surveillance
		
			  200102 200203 
			 Region Number MRSA Rate Number MRSA Rate 
		
		
			 North East 363 14.42 380 15.12 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 714 14.37 671 13.47 
			 East Midlands 543 13.01 494 11.72 
			 Eastern 744 13.79 710. 13.10 
			 London 1,571 21.86 1,655 22.50 
			 South East(19) 967 12.08 936 11.65 
			 South West 696 14.11 738 14.88 
			 West Midlands 761 14.45 812 15.31 
			 North West 867 12.88 934 13.84 
			 England 7,226 14.69 7,330 14.80 
		
	
	(19) Analysis based on 24/25 trusts in this region, due to late submission of data from one trust

NCAA

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average cost per case handled has been of the National Clinical Assessment Authority.

John Hutton: The National Clinical Assessment Authority (NCAA) was established to help the National Health Service manage performance concerns about doctors and dentists. For the majority of the NCAA's casework (about 75 per cent.), the average direct cost is estimated at around 330 per case. A smaller proportion of cases (about 15 per cent.) require more detailed expert support of local case management, at an estimated average cost of between 7,500 to 8,500 per case. The estimated average cost of full clinical performance assessment is between 22,400 and 24,300 per case, depending on whether it is an hospital and community care or primary care case; full clinical performance assessment occurs in about only 10 per cent. of referrals made to the NCAA.

NHS Dentistry

Joan Humble: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average distance people living in the Blackpool, North and Fleetwood constituency need to travel to access an NHS dentist.

Melanie Johnson: The average direct distance from postcodes in Blackpool, North and Fleetwood to the nearest dentist is 0.46 miles.

NHS Dentistry

Denis Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many dental practices provide NHS treatment in (a) Northumberland and (b) Wansbeck constituency; and where they are.

Melanie Johnson: 51 dental practices were providing national health service treatment in Northumberland Care Trust, which includes the Wansbeck constituency, as reported at 31 August 2003 by the Dental Practice Board. This covers general dental service (GDS), emergency dental service and the salaried service of the GDS.
	The number of dental practices by constituency is not available.
	The addresses of dental practices can be found by accessing the www.nhs.uk website.

Obesity

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans his Department has to increase the number of surgical procedures to treat obesity on the NHS; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many surgical procedures to treat obesity were carried out on the NHS in each year since 1996.

Melanie Johnson: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) published guidance in July 2002 on surgery to aid weight reduction for people with morbid obesity.
	The Department worked with the British Obesity Surgery Society (BOSS) on a planned implementation of the NICE guidance to ensure it was implemented safely. This additional advice was issued to strategic health authorities in September 2003.
	The table shows the number of finished consultant episodes for operations undertaken with a primary diagnosis of obesity.
	
		
			  Number 
		
		
			 199596 299 
			 199697 272 
			 199798 280 
			 199899 389 
			 19992000 388 
			 200001 492 
			 200102 440 
			 200203 538 
		
	
	Note:
	1. A finished consultant episode (FCE) is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. The figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of are within the year.
	2. The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (7 prior to 200203) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.
	3. Ungrossed datafigures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).
	Source:
	Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Department of Health.

Procurement Policy

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health in what ways environmentally sustainable procurement strategies within the Department have driven innovation in the design and supply of products.

Melanie Johnson: The Department and the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (NHS PASA) work with suppliers to encourage research and innovation, and to take account of environmental sustainability when setting procurement strategies for the National Health Service. Initiatives so far include: encouraging suppliers of copiers and printers to continually improve their environmental performance; implementing a prostheses and prosthetic component re-use scheme; encouraging the development of new clinical waste sacks; and promoting eco-labelling to the NHS. The Department also uses green electricity for its buildings.
	The Department and the NHS PASA fully support and contribute to the interdepartmental sustainable procurement group's activity.

Respiratory Disease

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2004, Official Report, column 720W, on respiratory disease, how the estimated cost of treating respiratory disease as a percentage of expenditure was calculated; and what the latest corresponding cash equivalent figures are.

Stephen Ladyman: In 1996 the NHS Executive published Burdens of Disease: A Discussion Document which is the source of the 13 January answer on estimated cost. This document draws together data from various sources primarily between 198994.
	The method of calculation is quite detailed and a copy of the Burdens publication will be placed in the Library to explain the derivation of the estimates.
	The latest corresponding cash equivalent figures are not available as the estimates of the percentage breakdown are now 10-years-old and would not necessarily reflect the breakdown of current expenditure.

Salt Reduction Plans

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many salt reduction plans his Department (a) expected to receive and (b) received by 27 February; how he intends to follow up those who failed to submit a plan; and what plans he has to publish an assessment of the plans he has received.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 5 March 2004
	Stakeholders were asked to collaborate and develop partnerships to expedite the production of salt reduction plans. Plans were received from 12 manufacturing and retailing trade associations on behalf of their members, as well as 15 from individual stakeholders, who include the voluntary sector and retailers, by the deadline of 27 February. Also there were a further two plans from retail trade associations and nine from individual stakeholders received after the deadline of 27 February. An assessment is being undertaken and a summary report will be published, together with information on all respondents.

Sexual Health

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of people who have contracted (a) a sexually transmitted disease, (b) HIV/AIDS and (c) Hepatitis in each London borough since 1995.

John Hutton: Information on the numbers of diagnoses of sexually transmitted diseases made in each London primary care trust (PCT) between 1995 and 2O02 have been placed in the Library. These data are not collected by London borough. The number of diagnoses made within each PCT does not reflect people who are resident within that PCT.
	Information on the number of individuals with diagnosed HIV infection resident in each London local authority between 2000 and 2002 has also been placed in the Library. Data earlier than 2000 are not available.
	Information on the numbers of cases of hepatitis B and C reported from London between 1995 and 2003, together with an estimate of the number sexually acquired, has also been placed in the Library. This information is not routinely collected by London borough or PCT.

Smoking

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the Answer of 7 January 2004, Official Report, column 398W, on smoking, what the data is for quarters (a) two and (b) three.

Melanie Johnson: The table shows the provisional results for the number of people setting a quit date through the National Health Service Stop Smoking Services, and the number who successfully quit at four week follow up.
	
		People setting a quit date and outcome at four weeks(based on self-report) in England: quarters 1 and 2(April to September 2003)
		
			  Number setting a quit date Number successful (self-report) 
		
		
			 April-September 2003 129,752 68,644 
		
	
	Source:
	Department of Health Smoking Cessation Monitoring Returns.
	The next NHS Stop Smoking Services Quarterly Report with data on Quarter 3 is planned for publication in May 2004.

Smoking

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 5 February 2004, Official Report, column 1071W on smoking, what work is being undertaken by other departments to implement smoke-free policies; and which minister co-ordinates these works.

Melanie Johnson: The Department of Health has taken the lead from April 2003 in making our buildings smoke-free and we continue to encourage employers and managers of public places to introduce smoke-free policies. We have not undertaken a formal review of smoking policies in all Government buildings but continue to liase and work with other Government Departments at official level. Individual Departments have provided details of their own smoking policies in previous responses to hon. and right hon. Members.

Sperm Donors

Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have been accepted as sperm donors in each of the last 10 years; what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the removal of the right to anonymity on the numbers of people coming forward as sperm donors; and what plans his Department has to assess the impact of a change in the number of sperm donors on childless couples.

Melanie Johnson: The information requested on the number of sperm donors recruited in each of the last 10 years is shown in the table.
	
		Sperm donors recruited in the UK each year: 1April 1994 to 31March 2003(20)
		
			  Sperm donors recruited(20) 
		
		
			 1 April 1994 to 31 March 1995 437 
			 1 April 1995 to 31 March 1996 403 
			 1 April 1996 to 31 March 1997 424 
			 1 April 1997 to 31 March 1998 316 
			 1 April 1998 to 31 March 1999 271 
			 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000 316 
			 1 April 2000 to 31 March 2001 248 
			 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002(21) 272 
			 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003(21) 222 
		
	
	(20) Figures represent the number of new donors recorded on the HFEA's register in each of the years.
	(21) Provisional figures only.
	Source:
	Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA)
	The Government believe that the need of young people to know about their genetic origins is of the highest importance. For that reason we announced our intention to introduce regulations to remove anonymity for all people donating gametes from 1 April 2005.
	We recognise that there is a demand for infertility treatment using donated gametes, although this demand has decreased over recent years through the development of intra cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).
	As I said in my speech to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's annual conference on 21 January 2004, the decision about donor anonymity will most probably lead to an initial drop in donor numbers. Indications from other countries that have removed donor anonymity are that the initial drop is followed by a climb in donor numbers. To help increase public awareness we will support a public campaign and fund a national helpline for people who are interested in donating. The helpline will give information about donation and provide callers with a list of clinics so that they can decide which clinic is most convenient for them. Although the support we will provide will not do the actual recruitment for clinics, our intention is that it will raise awareness, create interest and provide essential information among those who may be eligible to donate.

Strategic Health Authorities

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the key indicators are against which strategic health authorities will be monitored; and if he will make a statement on the consequences for these organisations of failing to meet these key indicators.

John Hutton: Strategic health authorities (SHAs) are the local headquarters of the national health service and they are responsible for local delivery of the national Planning and Priorities Framework 200306. The Planning and Priorities Framework sets out the objectives and targets for the NHS.
	Each SHA has produced a local delivery plan, which sets out the local health communities' planned progress towards delivery of the national objectives and targets. The Department assesses SHAs' performance against the local delivery plan.

Therapist Consultants

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what targets have been set since 1997 for the recruitment of therapist consultants; when they were revised; and what progress has been made in meeting those targets.

John Hutton: The NHS Plan, published in July 2000, said that by 2004 a first generation of therapist consultant will have started work. A reference to this commitment was made in 'Meeting the Challenge', published in November 2000, which also said that by 2004 the first therapist consultants would have started work. 'HR in the NHS Plan', published in July 2002, referred to an expectation that 250 new allied health professions consultants would be appointed by 2004. The latest non-medical workforce census will be published shortly.

Treatment Centres

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to extend the new treatment centres programme throughout England.

John Hutton: The treatment centre programme will deliver around 80 treatment centres by the end of 2005, treating at least an additional 250,000 patients a year in total. The majority of these centres will be run by the national health service. Others will be operated by independent sector providers.
	We are planning a national procurement starting later this year to provide diagnostic and surgical services through the independent sector. This will build on the current independent sector treatment centre procurement which was launched in December 2002. Two schemesone at Daventry and the mobile cataract surgery serviceare already open and treating patients.

Variant CJD (Rachel Forber)

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an ex-gratia payment to the family of the late Rachel Forber to cover the cost incurred by her family in taking her to receive experimental treatment for variant CJD in the United States; and if he will make a statement.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 3 March 2004
	To disclose information without the specific consent of the family concerned would breach patient confidentiality.

Websites

Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost in (a) financial and (b) other terms was in (i) each financial year since 1997 and (ii) 200304 until the latest date for which figures are available of (A) developing and (B) maintaining (1) his Department's website and (2) each website for which his Department is responsible; and how many (C) unique hosts and (D) hits there were in each month for each website in (iii) each financial year since 1997 and (iv) 200304 until the latest date for which numbers are available.

John Hutton: Information on the Department of Health's web site and those for which the Department is responsible, has been provided where figures are readily available. More historic data can only be provided at disproportionate cost.
	Unless specified, costs exclude staff overheads as it is not possible to provide these without incurring disproportionate cost.
	Usage figures are quoted in the currency in which they are collected and include page impression, visits, hits and unique visitors. Where multiple currencies are collected, visits have been used.
	Department of Health's Website(s) doh.gov.uk and dh.gov.uk
	The Department of Health's website (www.doh.gov.uk) was established in June 1995.
	The cost of the Department's website is shown in the table.
	
		
			 Financial Year Total cost 000s 
		
		
			 199899 219.8 
			 19992000 313.7 
			 200001 457.1 
			 200102 658.9 
			 200203 722.6 
			 200304 (22)663.0 
		
	
	(22) estimated costs to end of March 04excludes development as this is covered in the DotP project costs
	These figures include hosting and maintenance, development and dedicated staff costs (using agreed Civil Service Staff costs including salaries, common services etc.) Costs for earlier years are not available separately from the Department's total information technology costs.
	The Department launched a new website on 16 February 2004. It is available at www.dh.gov.uk. The old website was migrated onto DotP the central government content management platform. DotP has been developed in partnership with, and hosted by, the Office of the e-Envoy. The full cost of this major project is given below, and include costs associated with the project which would not be incurred annually.
	
		
			 Financial Year Total cost 000 
		
		
			 200203 1,121.4 
			 200304 2,136.8 
		
	
	The Office of Government Commerce provided hosting until the end of June 2002. While its website was hosted at OGC, the Department used page impressions rather than hits as a measure of usage. The figures are available in calendar years only.
	
		
			 Calendar Year Page Impressions 
		
		
			 1996 (23)200,000 
			 1997 (23)520,000 
			 1998 4,533,775 
			 1999 16,485,398 
			 2000 37,504,218 
			 2001 48,337,144 
		
	
	(23) These figures include both static HTML content and web accessed database content. Website usage for 1996 and 1997 is estimated (based on average weekly figures).
	Between June 2002 and February 2004, EDS Ltd was the hosting provider for the Department's website. EDS provided monthly service report that included a web performance return in which traffic to the Department's website was measured in visits.
	
		
			 Month Visits 200203 Visits 200304 
		
		
			 April  1,151,556 
			 May  1,194,097 
			 June  1,016,406 
			 July 782,398 (24)861,325 
			 August 700,015 (24)791,160 
			 September 709,406 1,191,141 
			 October 872,988 1,401,520 
			 November 968,069 1,441,587 
			 December 682,138 (24)902,998 
			 January 1,061,220 1,069,467 
			 February 1,018,692  
			 March 1,171,181  
		
	
	(24) Some data is missing for these months due to a technical fault within the reporting tool.
	It should be noted that these figures do not include hits or visits to any of the 60 plus web accessible databases/ which form part of the Departments' site. Hits for these databases are currently averaging 3.62 million per month.
	Information on other websites for which the Department is responsible has been replaced in the Library.

Wind Turbines (Noise Emissions)

Robert Walter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been carried out into the health effects of low frequency noise emitted from wind turbines.

Melanie Johnson: holding answer 9 March 2004
	The Department of Health has funded work on the effects of environmental noise on health but this has not included noise produced by wind farms.